An Act to Follow HD
by Snowsilver
Summary: During Clock Town's Midsummer Festival, Link and his friends are taking a well-deserved break from their adventures. But everything may not be as simple as it seems, for they say a wolf walks the city streets...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a rewrite of a story I began writing for a friend over ten years ago. The original version of this story still exists, however I recently went back to it, to improve upon it. Consider it my tribute to what Nintendo recently did with The Wind Waker. Therefore, I present to you An Act to Follow HD. Please enjoy!**

**All game characters are copyright to Nintendo.**

An Act to Follow — Part 1: "Never shut a trapdoor unless you mean it"

Clock Town was having a festival.

Situated, as legend claimed, in the exact center of the land of Termina, the thickly-walled settlement was a central crossroads, where races and cultures from throughout the land met and mingled. All paths, it was said, led eventually to Clock Town. In a perfect world, it would have been a dream city, a seamless intertwining of philosophies and ideals, a paragon of diversity, tolerance and goodwill.

In reality, Clock Town was best described as a massive jumble of incredibly tenuous harmony, where near-clashes between different cultures and ideals were a daily, if not hourly, battle. The stone city's eternally fragile political situation had long been in the care of a lengthy line of elected mayors, all of whom eventually, for some mysterious reason, developed nervous disorders and heart conditions.

One enterprising mayor who'd served a hundred years ago had reasoned that one way to keep the teetering balance of the city in check was to make sure that each season of the year had some major goodwill festival, carnival, or celebration. The more the populace was distracted with preparations and revelry, the less time there was to focus on other, more politically deconstructive avenues.

The Guild of Merchants had quickly and readily seconded the mayor's proposal, though many muttered that this had been for other, less philanthropic reasons. After all, it was noted, festivals brought in lots of tourists and more significantly, their money. Economic motives notwithstanding, the idea was strongly supported, and quickly adopted into Clock Town's charter of ordinances.

The Carnival of Time was the largest and most well known of these seasonal celebrations, held on the days leading up to and during the spring equinox. Nonetheless, the current year's Carnival of Time had nearly marked the permanent end of all Terminian celebrations. The near apocalyptic events surrounding the most recent spring equinox would have given the enterprising mayor of the past a heart attack, had he not already perished of one ninety six years previously. Fortunately, the crisis had been averted (sources and rumors debated on exactly _how_, and the Mayor's Office had yet to offer an official explanation), several months had passed, and life in Clock Town had carried tenuously on, as always.

Now with the coming of the summer solstice, it was time for the Midsummer Festival. The cobblestoned streets of the bright walled city were bursting at the seams with various vendors and merchants crouched in small tents, standing behind tables, ensconced in kiosks, all shouting the virtues of their various wares to passers by. The hot morning sun shone down on colorful paper lanterns and flags that were hung on strings across streets and avenues, clashing merrily with the windowboxes bursting with summer blooms and fragrant herbs. Members of every Terminian race and background, gathered together by the festive atmosphere, greeted, pushed, laughed, cursed, tripped, argued, apologized, haggled, and generally jostled each other along every major thoroughfare. Busy tourists and local festival-goers alike mingled, all moving in a mostly amiable way, but in a myriad of different directions. The present mayor breathed a weary sigh of relief, and then ordered another mixed drink to calm his racing heart.

"Er, make that a double, Mr. Barten. Just to be safe."

**-;O;-**

Amid the crowd, one young girl would have otherwise been hopelessly lost had she not been previously familiar with the city. Even so, navigating the crowd was not simple, nor was it comfortable. She was pulling along a purple-haired boy by the wrist, garnering many a protest from passersby in danger of tripping over them both. At last, the girl paused for a moment to catch her breath, her back resting against a stone wall plastered thick with advertisements and colorful posters. Both children looked back the way they had come.

"We might be going the wrong way!" the brown-haired girl remarked loudly. The crowd was very noisy, and her voice didn't carry well.

"What?!" The purple-haired boy shouted back at her.

"I said, _we might be going the wrong way_!"

"I still can't hear you very well, but I think we're going the wrong way, Kat!" The boy squeaked a finger in his ear. The girl named Kat rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Kafei, quit playing around. Maybe they went to the mainstage…"

The stage in question was set up in Clock Town's South District, directly in front of the huge stone Clock Tower that gave the settlement its name. The pair's approach was slow, as they fought the bustle of the crowd.

"Kafei," Kat panted, still holding the boy by the wrist, "Next year you should tell your Dad to set traffic patterns!"

Kafei, who was the younger of the current mayor's two sons, shrugged. "He did, it just didn't do any good. You know how people are when they get-" here he paused wickedly for a moment, "-_festive_."

Kat pointedly ignored that, same as she was ignoring the nearby stand selling mugs of expensive Chateau Romani (a particularly famous local delicacy - alcoholic cream). It was with a good amount of activity later, paired with several wrong turns that found them finally at the stage.

They paused to catch their breath, resting their dampened backs against the stage. Pushing through crowds was a sweaty business in of itself, but it didn't help that it Clock Town was experiencing an exceptionally hot summer this year. "Yuck," said Kat for the both of them, climbing the stairs that led up to stage left. She sat on the edge of the stage, letting her legs dangle. Kafei climbed up after her, glad to be out of the stuffy crowd.

"At least we made it out of there alive," Kafei finally offered, shielding his eyes from the bright sun.

"Yeah, but I'm worried. We _still_ haven't found anyone. We said we'd all meet up at ten, and it's nearly eleven now." Here Kat gestured idly behind them towards the giant Clock Tower.

"You don't think they're hiding out from the sun somewhere?"

"Hmm, maybe." Casually, Kat waggled her boots, kicking the side of the stage in the process.

A return thump from underneath the stage made them both jump. Scowling curiously, Kat rapped her knuckles in the same place, using the classic 'shave and a haircut' rhythm.

Without warning, a grinning red-haired head popped over their shoulders. "_Shandara_!"

"Gah!" Kafei tripped over himself and fell forwards, landing on hands and knees at the base of the structure. Kat turned an exasperated face towards the newcomer. "Hello there, Nick."

A wide grin spread wickedly across Nick's dark-skinned face. "Be' look'n fer us then, have yeh?" he asked innocently.

"_Us_?" Kafei croaked dubiously from down on the ground. "So you're all hiding on purpose then?"

With a creak, a trapdoor in the center of the stage suddenly opened. Propping the door open with one arm was a girl with long messy brown hair. In her free hand she held a ceramic mug, from which she slowly took a sip. "We found a big hiding spot under the stage," the girl explained earnestly.

Kafei blinked, his red eyes peering over the edge of the stage at the girl's drink. "Is that-?"

"Coffee," the girl clarified.

"Sond, it's what, stifling out…and you're drinking _coffee_?!" Hoisting himself back up onto the stage, Kafei huffed and dusted himself off. There were now some telltale dirty smudges on his knees.

"Well, it's not _warm_ coffee, silly!" Sond said as she retreated back under the stage. "We've been waiting for you guys. It isn't so bad once you get out of the sun."

Nick looked at both of them eagerly. "Wanna com' dow' an' see? I t'ink dere's room f' all've us…"

Kat chewed her lip as she slowly digested Nick's thick accent. "Who else is down there?"

The redheaded boy ticked them off on his fingers as he thought of them. "Lessie, me, Sond, Ty, Link, 'n Chiron. B'sides lik' Son' says, 's cooler outta th' sun fer ye, right? Dun bug me any, bu'…eh, 'd rather be wi' m'friends."

Once under the stage, Kat blinked several times, trying to clear the glaring starbursts in her vision. After the brightness outside, the space under the trapdoor seemed pitch black to her. Her vision slowly started to compensate. "So, how'd you find this place anyway?"

"Well," a voice on her left started with an air, "_I_ found it-"

"No you didn't! _I_ found it!" A voice on her right interrupted.

"No, _I_ did!"

"_I_ did! You just tripped over the door!"

Kat sighed.

Sond heard the sigh, muttered something, and suddenly the entire space was illuminated. She held an arrow in both hands, the tip of which was glowing brightly. Everybody flinched from the sudden light. Even illuminated, there wasn't too much to see, as both the floor and ceiling was bare wood as it was the stage itself.

"Yikes! Warn us first before you do that!" A fair-skinned blond boy with the telltale pointed ears of a Hylian shielded his eyes with a long hat that matched his green tunic.

A second boy with dark skin and black hair — save the white streak down the middle — feverishly agreed. "What Fairy Boy said. You could blind somebody with that!"

Kafei smirked as he settled. "Anyone else find it funny that we're basically using holy light arrows like a common torch?"

"I'm just being practical," Sond replied simply, needing to concentrate to keep the arrow lit.

There was general sniggering at this statement. Nick snorted from his place in the corner, now clutching a bowl of what appeared to be chili. Chewing his spoon, he looked suddenly thoughtful. "'Ey Ty, wha' 'bout Tim?"" he said finally, leveling his gaze at the boy with the white streak in his hair. Both of them were Volcanians, members of a volcano-dwelling race that had prominently dark-colored skin, peculiarly colored hair and eyes, their own language, and a supernatural affinity for fire and heat.

The boy named Ty also had a monkeylike tail that currently curled about his ankles. He became thoughtful at Nick's question. "I dunno. Thought he was in the back."

"Yeah, he was," Chiron, a fifth boy with short dark brown hair remarked, idly stretching. "I saw him trailing behind us, but then we must've lost him out there." He shrugged as if unconcerned. "Maybe 'ee tripped and fell."

Link, Ty, Nick, and Chiron looked at each other at this, then began laughing uproariously. Kafei smiled nervously. Kat and Sond shared an exasperated sigh.

"Y'know," Sond started, "You boys sure act immature sometimes…I mean, I know we're like, _ten_, but still…"

"Shouldn't we at least let him know where we are?" Kat added gently. "Or try to find him? He could have gotten hurt…he's…well, y'know…"

"A shrimp?"

"A runt?"

"A half-pint?"

"A' anklebiter?"

"Uh, vertically challenged?" The answers came all at once.

Link tried hard not to smirk. "Eh, I'm sure good ol' _Timbe_ will be just fine…he's probably napping somewhere, you know how he is."

Nick agreed quickly. "Righ' th' _lobo_ prolly got sick n' tired of th' crowd, got 'ungry, wen' t' hunt 'imself something to eat, an' then too' some winks."

Link gestured gratefully at the redhead. "Right. He's probably found himself somewhere to plop down for a bit…well, if he wasn't trampled first, that is…"

This statement started the boys' sniggering anew. Sond sighed. "Guys, it really isn't that funny. We really should…"

Ty and Nick looked at each other. "Okay, say you're right," Ty said finally, his tailtip twitching. "Fine, we go look for Timbre, even though that means you guys going back out into that heat-"

"An' gettin' all sweaty," Nick added with a grin.

Kat frowned slightly. "Well, it isn't like we're going into an inferno or anything, it's just the summer heat-"

A loud creaking thump from above made all conversation cease for twenty seconds.

"Um," Chiron said finally. "What in Din's name was that?"

Sond shrugged, fumbling with the arrow as she took another sip from her mug. "Probably just someone putting stuff on the stage." A second thump, far louder than the first, caused her to add to her statement. "Or _throwing_ stuff."

Ty made a face, shaking his head as dust fell into his hair. "They must be setting up for a show or something."

Link grunted. "Well then, I've had enough fun down here. Let's leave." Crawling over to the trapdoor, he pushed up with both hands. The door gave a creak, but refused to move. Link's blue eyes widened. "Guys…it's stuck!"

Sond and Kat groaned aloud.

**-;O;-**

Timbre woke up on the upper ledge of the Clock Tower with an abrupt grunt. Behind him, the colorfully painted mural that was the face of Termina's central clock steadily rotated with each second's passage. Each minute, it would make a slightly larger clunking sound and the clock face would turn slightly. Over the course of twelve hours, the entire mural would slowly invert itself.

According to the city's historical records, the Clock Tower was one of the oldest buildings in the city. Hundreds of years ago, it had originally housed a millworks, built over a small river that had run through Termina Field. As time passed and the settlement grew, the river had been slowly diverted by new structures and culverts, until over time the city simply swallowed it, the river going almost completely underground. The millworks had long since closed. Some innovative engineer, hired by the growing city, had adapted the old mill's waterwheel to the newly subterranean river, and now it provided an internal power source for the enormous clock, as well as some other buildings in the city. The tower itself was built from a heavy rounded riverstone base that had come from the millworks' original building. Local folklore had it that the clock had never stopped since it had been built those many years ago, and it was true that most people who owned their own timepieces would set theirs to the massive clock.

Perfectly on cue, the clock's face turned again, and the massive structure boomed the hour. Timbre rubbed sleepily at his forehead with the back of a gloved hand, his ears ringing. _Must've dropped off in this heat_, he thought, stifling a yawn.

It was too warm, especially to be wearing an overcoat. The boy shrugged out of his coat and rotated his shoulders, but the sun beat down on his back just as mercilessly as it had before. The threatening yawn finally erupted, and the boy ran a hand through spiky black hair. As his brain slowly rose out of its sleepy stupor, he groggily recalled how he'd gotten up there.

Not too long ago, he'd been following his friends through the massive crowds. At some point he'd tripped, stumbled against someone's knees, and hit the ground. When he'd picked himself up again, his friends had already vanished. He'd wandered aimlessly for a while, before climbing partway up the Clock Tower onto its maintenance ledge, mostly to get away from that infernal crowd, and also because it might be easier to spot his friends. Sometime between then and now he must have dozed off.

So where _had_ his friends all got to? Staring at the crowds below him with idle green eyes, he didn't spot anyone he recognized. There was a sudden loud sound below, and he focused on a large muscular Hylian man with hair that was dyed and styled to resemble a blue flame. The man walked onto the mainstage directly below the tower, carrying a crate that from its size alone looked incredibly heavy. Despite this, the man was hefting it on one shoulder with an incredibly natural ease.

Pausing in the very middle of the stage, he turned his head. "Oy! Ana, this stage seems a bit…unsteady." To make his point, he stomped his foot heavily on the stage's surface. The stage shook with a resounding boom.

A female voice, out of sight, answered the man's complaint. "It's only a temporary stage, you know. Mayor Dotour said it comes down after the festival. And please, don't stomp all over like that. Remember what happened last time you did that. You _do_ remember, right Kei?"

The muscular man, named Kei, laughed at the memory. "I don't think that landlord was too happy. He set down the crate, causing the stage to shake once more. "Well, there's th' equipment."

Timbre blinked, interested. Equipment? Were they an acting troupe, or something else? They weren't people he recognized as locals. Shifting position so that he was lying belly down, he peered down over the very edge of the ledge, chin in hands.

"By the by," Kei paused from his task of opening the crate. "Have you seen Tee anywhere around?" The man looked off to the side, supposedly at the lady he was talking to.

"Exploring. Y'know how she is." A slight woman with long hair that matched Kei's blue hair color perfectly stepped onto the stage with a smaller crate. "This'n is just the costumes. Just leave them both over there, we won't need to open them up until later. Hm, curtains aren't up yet, I hope they get to it before tonight. Either way, we still need to go see the Mayor's wife about our contract."

_So much for that. _Timbre slumped, threatening to yawn again. Normally he was always drowsy around this time of day, true, but the heat was really starting to get to him. He let his eyelids droop, the rhythmic clunking of the clock behind him threatening to put him back to sleep.

**-;O;-**

Underneath the stage, all seven trapped children braced themselves against the trapdoor, in an attempt to force it open.

"How does a door that opens _upwards_ get stuck, anyways?" Link grunted.

Ty gritted his teeth. "They must've put something heavy on top of it!"

"…An' if we push har' enough, we mi' be able t' move it off!" Nick added.

"Either that or we're stuck down here…" Chiron squeezed his eyes shut.

"Please don't say things like that…just push!" Kat groaned.

Sond had been forced to extinguish her light arrow to use both hands on the door, which meant the entire area was in darkness. "You know what we could do…"

"What?!" All the boys grunted at once.

"If we all pushed, really hard, all at once, it might work better. I dunno."

Everyone exchanged glances, which didn't help at all in complete darkness.

"Count of three, then?" Kafei said finally.

"Alright then," Sond said finally. "I'll count, we all push on three..."

"One…" Everyone took a deep breath and braced their legs.

"Two…"

**-;O;-**

Timbre was just beginning to doze off again when an alarmingly loud crash made his head snap up.

Technically, it was several crashes. Many things had happened at once.

"**THREE**!"

The trapdoor Kei had been unknowingly standing upon flew open violently, sending him stumbling backwards. The stage shuddered ominously.

One moment later, a half-dozen-plus-one heads popped out of the open trapdoor, all of them blinking owlishly in the sudden midday sunlight.

Timbre laughed quietly to himself. Well, it was no wonder then that he hadn't seen his friends in a while! Leaning over the edge of the ledge, he listened for their reactions.

"Well," said Kat finally, "I think that worked."

Kei smirked, though he sounded mildly annoyed as he drew himself up. "Hmm, next time you're stuck down there, maybe you should just pound on the door first before forcing it open?"

Introductions were being made all around as Timbre racked his brain for something to say as a greeting. He finally gave up and just waved instead. "Hey!"

Two adults and seven children turned their heads up in his direction.

"Uh," Timbre found himself grinning nervously. "Long time no see…" he finished lamely.


	2. Chapter 2

An Act to Follow — Part 2: "Killing time is hard, avoiding sunburns is harder"

"Well, it appears the little guy wasn't trampled flat after all…" Link remarked airily. It was hard to tell from his tone whether he was disappointed or not.

"Hey!" Timbre was clambering off the ledge feet first, and he dropped temporarily out of sight, down the maintenance ledge's access ramp. A minute later, he reappeared, scrambling quickly over to the stage from the left. The boy eyed it warily, finally hauling himself up despite the fact there were stairs nearby. "For your information, I almost got sat on by a Goron. I'm lucky to be alive! Didn't you notice I wasn't with you?"

Link shrugged innocently.

Ty scowled and elbowed the green-hatted Hylian sharply in the ribs, earning himself a glare in the process. "Honestly Tim, we _thought_ you were right behind us. You were in that crowd, and it was chaos. Even Kat and Kafei got lost in it!"

Timbre seemed to accept this, and exhaled resignedly.

Kei chuckled.

Flinching, Timbre looked up. Significantly. Kei was easily over seven feet tall, meaning that he made Timbre feel even smaller then usual. Just barely short of four feet among a group of taller kids the same age as he was was bad enough, but this was just…_unnerving_. "Uh," he mumbled. "Hi."

Kat smirked. "Keisou, meet Timbre. Timbre, Keisou."

"Tis a pleasure, Timbre. Call me Kei for short." Kei's hand could have easily engulfed both of Timbre's hands in his hearty handshake. His manner was surprisingly gentle, though Timbre still felt the soreness in his arm afterwards. No wonder this man had no problem hefting heavy crates!

"And this is Ana," Kat added.

Ana, the woman Kei had been talking to, had a very calculating gaze. Her brown eyes sparkled intelligently as she bent down, smiling, to shake Timbre's hand. "Pleased to meet you, Timbre. You have very nice eyes. What a luminous shade of green."

Timbre stammered a bit, finding such a compliment to be unusual. "Uh…thanks?"

"But, gloves, isn't it a bit warm out to be wearing that sort of thing?"

Timbre glanced down at his hands. The gloves he wore were black and fingerless. He grinned nervously. "I uh, never take my gloves off," he said finally.

"Ah." Ana said, her gaze becoming even more calculating. Timbre shrugged uncomfortably, and Ana suddenly changed the subject. "So, will you be coming to our show tonight?"

Sond's mouth described a small 'o.' "Are you in a play?"

"A play?! Hardly!" Ana laughed. "We're illusionist performers. Slight of hand. Magic tricks. Amazing feats. Part of the fun is trying to figure out how we pull it off. And," she added, looking at Kei, winking, "we don't cheat."

Link stared. "So no _real_ magic, then?" He folded his arms imperiously.

"It depends," Ana said mysteriously, "what you consider _real_ magic."

"Well _technically,_ slight of hand is manual skill, and actual _magic_-" Chiron started, but his ostentation was suddenly interrupted by another voice.

Raised an octave from the background buzz of the crowd, it broke all further conversation. "Kafei? _There_ you are!"

Kafei groaned loudly as his mother, Madame Aroma, stepped up to the stage. The crowds gave her no trouble at all as she went through them like a person might wade through ocean shallows. Although Kafei's mother was often politely referred to as being 'large in frame' or 'big boned,' it was more her sheer presence that parted the crowd. She was the Mayor's wife, after all.

"Hi Mom…" Kafei chewed his lip, looking a bit pink in the face. His mother was very doting, and oblivious to the embarrassment it caused her son. Link and Ty snickered.

Madame Aroma sniffed, readjusting her reddish-brown hair in its elaborate updo. "Your brother and I have been looking for you for at _least_ an hour! We have something we'd like you to help us with-"

Kafei's face fell. Sometimes being the son of the Mayor meant his mother sent him on chores. It appeared this was the case now.

"-besides, it is much too warm to be playing outside for so long, dear. I don't want you to get sunburned again, remember last time?"

This caused another round of snickering. Kafei turned a slightly darker shade of pink. Kat interjected on his behalf.

"But ma'am, but Kafei promised he'd take us to the merchant's tents this afternoon." Kat smiled innocently. Kafei's eyes widened in panic. The one thing he hated more than chores was shopping. Chiron and Nick were doubled up, failing to totally hide their mirth. Madame Aroma didn't seem to notice.

Before they were seen, Ana interjected. "Hello Madam Aroma. We've just brought in our equipment. We're the illusionists, the Meimou Troupe."

"Ah!" The Mayor wife's mouth widened in a warm smile as she grasped Ana and Kei's hands. "Welcome, welcome to Clock Town! You must be Ana and Keisou Meimou, then! I'm so glad you could make it! Toto has spoken very highly of your work. Is it just the two of you here?"

"Actually, there's also Kei's sister, so three of us altogether."

"Excellent, excellent! I still need to discuss some last-minute arrangements with Toto at the office, but now that I've found Kafei-" Here she patted her son on the head – "I shall be headed back there immediately, feel free to join me there when you are all finished with your setup. I believe we still need to sign your contract."

"Works for us," Kei grinned. "We'll be there shortly."

"Mom," Kafei asked weakly, "Um. What exactly did you want-"

"Oh, never mind that, dear," Kafei's mother said distractedly, "We'll have time later. Go and have fun with your little friends!" Kafei groaned as she planted a wet kiss on his forehead. "And don't spend all your allowance at once, dear!" She shouted over her shoulder as she stepped down the stage steps, merging seamlessly with the crowd again.

As soon as she left, everybody looked at Kafei, who was now soundly crimson.

Everybody burst out laughing, even the adults. Kei clapped a hefty hand on Kafei's shoulder, who grunted from the impact. "Got you wrapped around her little finger, doesn't she?"

"Ugh…I just wish she didn't do that all the time," Kafei whined faintly. "She treats me like I don't know how to do anything." He rounded on Kat. "And why'd you have to tell her I'd take you shopping?"

Kat looked a bit hurt. "It was the first excuse I could think of…sorry."

"Probably because you actually wanted to," Sond teased gently.

Chiron spoke up, sensibly. "Well, how 'bout we _all_ go? There's a big merchant's tent set up in the Eastern District. Bet it's shady in there."

This idea placated Kafei a bit.

Goodbyes were made all around as the kids promised Kei and Ana that they would come see their show that evening. "Be here early, or you might not find room to sit," Kei warned.

Standing in a line on the edge of the stage, all eight kids looked out first at the dreaded crowd, then at one another.

"We ready for this?" Chiron murmured, nervously fingering a strand of hair.

"I'm not," Kafei said.

"After you," Ty said vaguely, pushing Link forward.

"No way, Monkey Boy!" Link dodged, backing into Nick.

"'Ey!" Nick grunted. "Watch it!"

"And don't call me that, Fairy Boy!"

"I'll call you what I like, skunk-stripe!"

"Take that back, you skirt wearin-"

"Hey," Sond said suddenly. "I think Madame Aroma's coming back!"

"Argh! Race you all there!" Kafei sprinted headlong into the crowd, and the other boys, not wanting to be upstaged, ran after him.

Kat blinked. "Wow. They usually never go _that_ fast-"

Sond smirked. "Unless there's food to be had, then it's Tim in the lead. I hope they don't get trampled trying to race each other. I hope _we_ don't get trampled just _walking_ through…"

"You'll be fine," Ana said, laughing. She waved as the two girls disappeared into the crowd.

"Heh, eight of 'em together. Kind of makes Tee look like a breeze to watch after." Kei said.

Ana raised a skeptical eyebrow at Keisou's remark. "Mm-hm?"

"Well, _almost_." Kei smirked.

**-;O;-**

Bustling through the crowd hadn't become any easier. In fact, Chiron thought to himself, he was surprised that nobody had yet been seriously injured. The crowd didn't just consist of humans and Hylians, either. There was also an even smattering of all the common races of Termina: large rock-eating Gorons, aquatic Zora, and plantlike Deku Scrubs. Chiron had even noted a few of the reclusive, yellow-eyed, hawk-nosed Gerudo. Everyone, it seemed, was here.

Unfortunately, the group had become separated yet again. Eight kids, even tightly packed together, were in great danger of losing each other at every step. Even now, he, Ty, Nick and Timbre were desperately trying to stay together. Kafei and Link had disappeared a moment earlier, after Kafei claimed he knew a shortcut.

"You know, now I kind of wish I _had_ taken a shortcut…" Timbre muttered. He was really starting to dislike crowds. The heavy smell of sweat and dust was everywhere, and one was in constant threat of being trodden on.

"Mi' agree wi' you there, _lobo_." Nick said, flexing his shoulders as he slipped between two hagglers. He had the habit of sprinkling his sentences with words from his native language, Volcanian. Ty, despite being in from the same place, did not often share in this habit, nor was his speech as heavily accented.

"The thing is," Ty said, "Is that Kafei's 'shortcuts' usually end up getting us lost or in trouble. Remember last time near the Observatory-_yeoouch_!"

Chiron stopped walking. "Huh?"

Ty had one eye squeezed shut as he gritted darkly through his teeth. "Somebody _just stepped on my tail_." The offended appendage lashed about until the boy managed to catch it.

"Ouch." Chiron, Nick, and Timbre chimed in unison, Timbre wincing visibly.

"Nevermind, I'll survive. Besides, there's the merchant's tent now. Ha, we made it there before everyone else, and _without_ taking Kafei's little side route."

From underneath the tent, looking relaxed in the shade, two shapes waved.

"Looks like 'ee made it b'fore us…" Nick murmured.

But the two shapes weren't Kafei and Link after all. They waved harder, one with the mug in her fist.

"Hi!" Came the yell in perfect unison from the two girls.

All four boys stared in astonishment. "H-How did you get here so quickly?" Ty spluttered.

Kat and Sond just looked sly. "That," Kat said finally, "is a secret. Come on in, it's shady and not as crowded! Only shoppers allowed. Besides, there's some _really_ neat stuff being sold here."

"And they're selling milkshakes!" Sond added.

"I'm there! Goodbye, cruel sun!" Chiron walked in, followed by Ty, who was still holding onto his injured tail. Timbre was just following them in when he stopped suddenly, causing Nick to collide with him.

"Hey Tim! Come on!" Ty turned back and raised an eyebrow as he got no response. "Tim?"

"Oy, _lobo_…heat 'ent getting' to ya, is it?" Nick blinked, waving his hand in front of Timbre's eyes. "Tha' ain' goo' fer yeh, y'know. Tol' you that coat's a bad idea."

Timbre shuddered. "Sorry…just got prickles up my spine for a second. I dunno, it felt like we were being…watched."

Nick abruptly rapped his knuckles on Timbre's forehead, making the dark-haired boy flinch and scowl.

"Ouch! What was that for?!"

"I dunno Ty…" Nick said, chuckling, looking over at his friend. "'Is brains _seem_ to still be in there. Mayhap the sun jus' fried 'em."

"Hey, I'm serious here!" Timbre snarled, rubbing his head. Then he calmed down. "Sorry…it was just kind of weird. Maybe I just need to get in the shade or something."

Nick snorted. "Mebbe," he said wickedly, "S'cause you ain' _panting_ enough, eh _lobo_? Yanno, stick yer tongue out, like this!"

Timbre rolled his eyes at Nick's attempt to bait him. He let the comment slide, and sighed instead. "Weird feeling though. It's like there's eyes on us or something."

Ty blinked. "Don't let it bother you. Heat plays funny tricks on people - I mean, not us Volcanians of course, we love it - but, well, you know what I mean. It's probably nothing."

"Lissen' to Ty 'ere, 'es smart." Nick laughed.

Timbre smirked. "Yeah, guess you're right…" But he couldn't help but glance suspiciously behind him before retreating into the shady merchant's tent.

**-;O;-**

The day was much more bearable inside the tent. The merchants, picking up on this, only allowed those who were actually shopping to stay inside, otherwise the tents would be too crowded with people uninterested in shopping, hurting their business.

Kafei and Link eventually arrived, twenty minutes later. Link was fuming.

"A 'shortcut,' he says to me!" he kept going on, "Not only did we end up in _North_ Clock Town, we ran into that creepy Tingle guy! Well, then he wants us to stay and _chat_ for awhile, and Kafei has to stammer something about being on an errand before he'd let us go. Some shortcut!"

Kafei was starting to turn red again. "Look, it was an honest mistake, okay? Sheesh…"

Eventually Link cooled down, though the round of milkshakes the group bought from the Milk Bar's kiosk might have helped. Sond and Kat browsed the merchants' wares for a good hour, but most of the items on sale were slightly too expensive for a child's budget. It was fun though, Kat thought, to imagine herself in some of the handwoven skirts on display, especially the ones that were iridescent. The stone carvings that a local Goron was selling were quite handsome (also quite tasty, he claimed). And some of the Zora jewelry, made from seashells and other marine treasures absolutely took her breath away.

Having almost the entire afternoon left, the kids racked their brains for ideas. Ty rested his chin in one hand. "What else to do until dusk? When did Kei say their show was on?"

"Eight-thirty," Timbre said, yawning and fumbling in a coat pocket.

"An' what time is it now?" Ty asked.

Kafei checked the pocket-sized watch he normally kept carefully tucked under his shirt. "Uh, a little bit after two."

The group sighed a collective sigh. "Well, we gotta find _something_ to do to kill some time…" Ty muttered.

Link paused, inches from pouring the rest of his milkshake down the back of Ty's shirt. "Kill time? Heh, well, y'know, I still have the ocarina-"

"_No way_!" Came the unanimous shout.

Link shrugged helplessly. "Okay, relax! I was just kidding." He then proceeded with his prank.

Kat groaned, trying hard to think despite the commotion caused by Ty, who was now furiously chasing Link in circles around the tent. Rubbing her temples, she looked at the remaining five. "Any ideas? Someplace fun."

"Somewhere we can eat, too, maybe." Timbre added. He'd found a strip of jerky in his pocket and was now idly gnawing at it. "Milkshakes are good and all, but..."

Nick blinked, watching Ty and Link complete their second lap. "Two…ah…"

"What about the Observatory?" Chiron suggested.

"It's closed, the professor doesn't want a crowd in there. Besides, the Bombers wouldn't let us down there right now anyway," Sond said, pulling out a deck of cards and shuffling it. "Jim's still not too happy about the last time he caught us down there."

"T'ree…" Nick muttered, now counting the laps.

Everybody sighed.

"Well," Chiron said, "We could always try the stores in the Western District…"

"Four…"

"Closed off for the festival." Sond said, not looking up from her cards.

"Well, anywhere else?" Timbre muttered, picking bits of jerky from between his teeth.

"Five…Well…wot 'bout that place wi' th' shootin' targets?" Nick said.

"The one with the Octoroks? Good grief, getting a high score at that place is _hard_."

"No…th' other place. Wassit called…six…oh yeah, 'Oney n' Darlin's…they open?"

Kat shrugged. "Worth a try, I'd say." As she said this, Link and Ty were just completing their seventh circuit. "Someone's got to stop those two…"

"You come back 'ere, Fairy Boy! I've got a poundin' with your name on it!" Ty was yelling.

"Gotta catch me first!"

Sond nudged Kat. "Psst. Do your fairy impression."

Kat smirked and drew a deep breath. "_Watch out_!"

This shout had the desired effect. Link, alarmed by the familiar cry, skidded to a halt in midstride. Ty promptly crashed into him, knocking them both over. Dust, fists, and a few oaths flew as the two boys fell to wrestling. Most of the merchants were scowling, although a few seemed to be taking bets.

"Oh dear," Kat said, turning slightly pink.

Kafei stood up. "Alright, time to go. Hey you two?"

"Yeah, people are staring." Chiron said between coughs. "We're going to Honey and Darling's."

Ty reluctantly released Link from a headlock as a draw was called. Both boys scowled at each other fiercely as they picked themselves off the ground. The Volcanian squirmed awkwardly, a long wet streak running down the back of his shirt.

"I'm gonna get you back for that, Fairy Boy…" Ty warned. "I promise you. Before this festival's over, you hear me?!"

"Hah, only two and a half days then, Monkey Boy. I think I'll survive." Link smirked at the challenge.

"We'll see…" Ty said calmly. "We'll see…"


	3. Chapter 3

An Act to Follow — Part 3: "It doesn't pay to snoop"

It had become mercifully cooler since the sun had dipped below the horizon. The sky glowed a multitude of stark fiery hues, and as the swirling colors began to slowly sink into midnight blue, the pinpricks of brighter stars began to appear. A nightly chorus of insects was tentatively starting to commence.

That is, if one could have heard them above the noise of the assembly gathered in South Clock Town.

It was difficult to find a seat in the twilight, let alone one's way, but the streetlamps had been lit, providing at least some light for the audience. On either side of the stage in front of the big clock burned a larger lamp, which thanks to an arrangement of mirrors within, cast focused light onto the stage. A curtain now hung at the back of the stage, behind from which performers could enter and exit.

"Why do y'suppose they're doing their act after dark? Is it so we can't see how their tricks work?" Kafei murmured to Kat.

"Maybe, but I think this kind of thing just looks better in the dark. Makes it seem more _spooky_, you see?" Kat waggled her fingers for emphasis.

The group had spent most of the afternoon at Honey and Darling's parlor for some target shooting. Unlike the other shooting gallery in town, Honey and Darling's utilized a carousel-like platform that spun, making it a more unique challenge for sharpshooters. In the end Sond's superior archery skills had won her some extra Rupees, while everybody else came up either short or merely even. Around five o'clock (at Timbre's urging) they had headed off for a quick dinner from some of the street kiosks, followed by another round of milkshakes.

Ty had sat the entire time with his back to the wall. Ever since the previous milkshake incident, he and Link had thrown each other dirty looks at every opportunity.

The two of them were rarely if ever on good terms, due to a rivalry that had started the moment the two had met. Something about Ty's bravado, Link's stoneheadedness, and their equally competitive personalities could drive them to blows over even the smallest of disagreements. And, much to the consternation of the rest of the group, once they got going they were difficult to stop. Only in the direst of situations would they forget their quarrels and work together.

So it was that the Volcanian and Hylian were glowering at each other even while waiting for the show to begin. The group, heeding the warning of finding seats early, had taken the initiative. Pushing a pair of empty crates together, the group had reserved their spot in South Clock Town, off to the left of the stage. This had a few advantages: for one thing, they had a wall to lean against, and second: fewer people were there, although it had taken a bit to convince the Deku Scrub salesman nearby that they weren't going to disturb his golden Deku Flower, which he used instead of a kiosk.

"Like we'd want to," Chiron had muttered.

Kat, Kafei and Nick sat on top of the crate (they'd drawn straws for it), while below everybody else sat on the ground around it. Timbre, who was sore he hadn't won a seat up on top of the crate, grumbled aloud. "You know, we could've sat on one of the roofs…"

Sond was playing solitaire again. "We wouldn't be able to see a thing."

"Not if we went around the Clock Tower-"

"We'd be _behind_ the stage then, and the clock and that curtain might be in the way," Sond said finally. "Or are you just hoping to snoop behind the scenes?"

Timbre looked away, fumbling in a pocket. "Nevermind." Finding one last strip of jerky, he crammed it in his mouth moodily. He'd expressed quite a bit of curiosity about Ana and Kei's show, even before they'd found their seats. Slight of hand…he'd never seen an act like that before.

Chiron tapped a foot impatiently. "When is it gonna start?"

As if on cue, the huge clock turned, marking the half-hour.

"Guess that answers my question…" Chiron remarked.

"Shh…" everyone hissed.

The crowd hushed expectantly as all heads turned towards the stage. They were not kept waiting for long.

Ana stepped out onto the stage to applause, her long blue hair tied back in a braid. She wore a dress that was black on top, but faded down into a beautiful midnight blue at the bottom. Woven into the fabric were hundreds of little abalone shell sequins. It sparkled when she moved, a duplicate of the night sky.

"Pretty! I'd love a dress like that!" Kat breathed.

Keisou followed her. His hair was exactly the same as it had been before, though haloed in the stage's illumination made it eerily resemble the flame it strove to emulate. He was wearing a sleeveless muscle-shirt of the same midnight blue as Ana's dress, with baggy white pants. His boots were huge, and made large clumping noises as he walked.

Sond was about to agree with Kat about Ana's dress when her head turned towards the stage. Someone else had arrived.

The third member was a little girl, who looked incredibly minute standing up there next to Kei. She had long hair of a lighter blueish-gray than her companions, braided back like Ana's. She was clad in a billowing short-sleeved blue dress that came down slightly past her knees. Oddly, she was wearing a black glove on her right hand, but not on her left.

"Oy, she's _tiny_. She might even be shorter than you, Tim!"

"Shh!"

Timbre grumbled while Kafei's father, the mayor of Clock Town, stood up next to the stage and climbed the steps. Mayor Dotour was quite unlike Madam Aroma, his frame thin and lanky and his manner constantly nervous, as if he were a mouse caught out in the open. Raising his voice seemed to put a strain on the man.

"I would like to welcome you all to the Clock Town Midsummer Festival!" The Mayor squeaked in his wobbly voice. There was polite cheers and applause. "I would like to extend our most warmest of welcomes to you all-"

Chiron sniggered, "and your Rupees…" This garnered several more sniggers and a slight glare from Kafei.

"Tonight we are very honored to invite you to a splendid performance that will boggle the mind and dazzle the eye, mesmerizing and mysterious…"

"…blah blah blah, get on with it, Dad…" Kafei mumbled under his breath, before Kat elbowed him in the ribs.

"…I am pleased to introduce…" Mayor Dotour cleared his throat. "Our fantastic cerulean illusionists, the Meimou Troupe, Mr. Keisou and Madam Ana!" The two performers bowed as the crowd applauded wildly.

"Ahem," Mayor Dotour patiently waited for the crowd to quiet. "I am also pleased to introduce their assistant Miss Tejina, Mr. Keisou's young sister." Here the little girl stepped forward shyly and curtsied.

"I am _not_ that short," Timbre started, then he crossed his arms sulkily as everybody glared at him to be quiet.

"And now, on with the show!" The Mayor's voice cracked, and he quickly exited backstage. There was another burst of applause from the crowd, although it wasn't clear whether they were applauding because the show was starting or because the Mayor had finished talking.

"Thank you, Mr. Mayor," said Ana, her mouth curving into a grin. "I suppose all of you are familiar with a handkerchief? Well, you might be amazed at what can be done with such a simple thing."

The trio started their act simply enough. Rolling up her sleeves, Ana retrieved a yellow handkerchief, seemingly out of nowhere. She handed it to Keisou, while the girl Tejina stood off impassively to one side. Crumpling the handkerchief into one fist, Kei passed his other hand over it. Suddenly, he flicked his hand open, and the handkerchief had become a yellow flower with crinkly petals. The applause was polite.

"So what's the verdict?" Sond whispered quietly to Kat, as both she and Chiron both had some training in the magical arts.

Kat hummed interestedly. "Well, I don't think he magically conjured it. Didn't look like it."

"Yeah," Chiron murmured. "He must've hid it somewhere on him."

"But where could you-"

"Shhh! Look!"

Kei made a motion as if he were going to throw the flower into the air, but it instead vanished. The man stared at his hands as if confused. Tejina suddenly trotted over to him. Standing on her tiptoes, the little girl tugged on his sleeve with a smile. Kei turned around, and kneeled down in front of her. Tejina made several mysterious passes, cupping her hands into a ball. When she opened them, the yellow flower sat there, nestled in her palms. Placing the flower behind Kei's left ear, Tejina repeated the passes, producing another flower, this time bright blue. This one she balanced on his left shoulder.

"Okay, so where is she getting them from? Up that skirt?" Chiron murmured.

"Shh!"

Tejina kept producing flowers of various colors, until Kei had nearly a score of them woven into his hair, tucked in his belt, and even one clenched between his teeth. By this time, the audience was chuckling.

Ana arrived to his rescue. 'Shooing' the girl, she covered Kei with a black silk sheet. She held on to two corners of the sheet, biding Tejina to do the same on the other end.

"Now!" Ana shouted, and they pulled the sheet off of Kei. The man stood perplexed, covered in the rainbow of handkerchiefs that had replaced the flowers. The crowd roared its approval, and even Link admitted he was impressed.

The rest of the show was just as remarkable. During one part, Keisou deftly spun an iron ball on one finger. Seconds later he tossed it down onto the stage, causing the whole structure to shake. The ball was handed off to some Gorons in the audience, who verified it was truly as heavy as was said. There were then a few invitations for Kei to join them in some friendly competitive arm-wrestling later, much to the audience's amusement.

In another trick, Tejina stood still as a stone with an apple balanced on her head. Ana skillfully spun a throwing knife at the girl. The knife thudded to the floor with the apple impaled on it, leaving Tejina unharmed.

And none of their tricks used magic, much to their amazement. Nick just chuckled. "Slig' o' hand, clever tricks, it might not be magic, bu' 'tis magical th' same, yes?"

Link sighed. "Suppose so."

Ty guffawed and slapped the boy heavily on the back, causing Link to flinch. Ever since Ty had vowed revenge, Link had become paranoid of anything that seemed to cause the boy amusement, as if it were going to viciously turn on him.

Nearly three quarters of an hour had passed since the show began, and finally Keisou held up his hands. "And now," he boomed, "For our finale, we shall make my young sibling here _completely vanish_!" Keisou retrieved a plain wooden box from backstage. He juggled it in one hand, twirling it so the audience saw it from all sides as he spoke. "Note this box has no holes in it, and no hinges save this one on the top." Setting the box down, he opened the top.

Tejina stepped forward. She hadn't spoken a word or made a sound throughout the entire performance. She blinked innocently as Kei lifted her into the box, setting her inside as gently as a doll into its toy crib. Ana closed the box's lid with a resounding boom. She then proceeded to bolt the lid shut.

"No way she's getting out of there…" Kafei murmured.

Kei picked up the box once more and held it over his head. "Now…a little girl goes into the box, _but no little girl exits_, behold!" Spinning the box in his hands, he tossed it into the air. As it spun in a graceful arc, it seemed like Kei was going to let it fall. The audience gasped appropriately. At the last moment, he caught it, setting it down upright on the stage.

"She's gonna be dizzy…" Timbre murmured.

Kei unbolted the box, and flung the lid open for all to see. The audience collectively craned their necks. Kei flipped the box down so that its open side lay visible to the entire audience.

The box was empty.

Timbre stared with wide eyes as the crowd gave a standing ovation. "So then where do you go after you disappear?" Everybody else was too busy applauding the performers to take much notice of him, however. Now the crowd was cheering for an encore. It took a full 2 minutes of cheering before Kei and Ana finally conceded to a few more tricks. Tejina, however, had not reappeared for the curtain call.

Timbre was suddenly feeling rather antsy. He'd always been the inquisitive type, but it seemed like he was alone in his curiosity, as his friends seemed more content to sit and watch.

No matter then. Maybe if he slipped off by himself, and if he could somehow slip backstage, he could find out their secret. Everyone else was still focused on the show. Now was the perfect time… Timbre looked towards the gate leading to West Clock Town, behind him to his left. There was a route through there that looped around to an area behind both the clock and the stage. _Maybe_…

Timbre was already mentally planning the route in his mind and shuffling slowly backwards when somebody poked him in the shoulder, giving him a start. It was Kafei.

"Wow, you're really fascinated by this stuff, aren't you?"

Timbre froze, but then nodded. "Yeah. Er, um, I'm going to just go for a walk. I'm…er…feeling a bit antsy." He quietly stood and began sidling off towards the gate that lead to West Clock Town. Kafei followed him, somewhat to Timbre's annoyance.

"You're going to snoop, aren't you?"

Timbre didn't reply.

"You know nothing good comes of snooping." There was still no response. "C'mon, doesn't part of you _not_ want to know? You know, to keep yourself wondering?" The purple-haired boy asked.

Timbre looked back at Kafei. "Um…no. Sorry. Look, just go back to the others, I'll be right back, honest." Timbre blinked. "Oh yeah, and would you watch my coat for me? It doesn't change with me." Timbre slipped out of the overcoat, leaving him only in his black shirt and canvas pants.

Kafei held on to the coat, staring at it as everything sunk in. "Uh…you're not gonna actually-" He stopped wide-eyed when Timbre nodded. "Bad idea! There's too many people around! What if somebody sees you like that?"

"Relax," Timbre said with a slight hint of a grin. "Everybody's here watching the show."

"But...but…" Kafei stared down at the coat, unable to think of a retort. He finally sighed. "You're _crazy_, you know that?" Kafei looked up again.

Timbre was no longer there, although Kafei did catch sight of a white tailtip as something vanished around the corner into the alley.

**-;O;-**

The black and white wolf padded purposefully down the dark and deserted strip of West Clock Town, past the closed Curiosity Shop. In fact, all of the regular stores were locked due to the Festival, even the Bomb Shop and Trading Post. The bank's little niche lay empty of both banker and Rupees.

It looked like Sond had been correct: they'd specially closed the area off to use it for storage, judging by the large numbers of wooden crates stacked up against any free walls. The food merchants would definitely need extra space to store their produce and ingredients safely out of the way. Despite this, Timbre knew better then to take chances, and kept himself to the ample shadows. Guards would likely be regularly patrolling the area to head off any enterprising thieves, especially during an event such as this.

His general plan was to quickly loop through West Clock Town. Up further, at the end of the strip of stores was a small square. In that square, a right turn would connect back to South Clock Town, which would lead him past a statue of an owl with outspread wings directly behind the Clock Tower, and the stage. From there, he could watch the goings-on backstage without them noticing him, and then...

_What was that?_

Hearing a faint clanking noise, both of Timbre's pointed ears perked forward in alarm and he froze in place, one forepaw still in the air. Nothing. He sniffed the air, and at first only the scents of oil-fried festival food intermingling with those of soil, flowerboxes, and new paint came to him. Then the wind's direction changed. Metal! Sweat and metal!

Without a second thought, Timbre slipped silently against the wall on his right and wedged himself behind a particularly large crate. Even as he did so, he heard faint clanking as one of the Clock Town's guard slowly marched by.

_Just a one Guard_, he thought. _Though that spear he's carrying isn't a joke_. Like all of Clock Town's Guard, he (or she, it was hard to tell) was dressed head to toe in steel armor, even a helmet. Although evidently well-protected, the Guards were often cited as one of the noisier things to walk the streets. As the armored figure clanked and clattered southward and its scent dulled, Timbre slowly squeezed out from his hiding place, and continued on, wary to any further activity or smells.

Timbre had never met any others of his kind in either Hyrule or Termina, and he was pretty sure he knew why; the shapeshifting race was likely an extinct creature in both lands. Like most shapeshifters, wolves like himself led a double life: some of the time they looked exactly like humans, and the rest of the time they spent very shrewdly out of sight of humans.

The reading Timbre had managed on the subject gave him good reason to be wary. There was very little Hylian record of his kind, other than the sorts of stories one might casually assume were fairy stories. Instead, the writings in the lands of Hyrule and Termina focused another creature called a Wolfos: a large, wild, savage, destructive, cunning, and purportedly man-eating monster. Even if true Wolves and Wolfos had little in common other than an outwardly similar appearance, the danger of resembling such a feared and hated creature was all too real; no human was likely to stay their weapon long enough to distinguish the two before striking.

And though scarce, the stories had added another layer to the dilemma: they concluded with little doubt that anything that could change its shape at will was suspiciously deceptive at best and outwardly malicious at worst. Add to that its unwanted connection to a predatory Boogey Man, and one could conclude a wolf's general mindset about humans: be wary of them, and _never_ let them find out your true nature.

This last was significant to explaining to Timbre a survival instinct that had likely been pounded in over hundreds of years of unfortunate interactions. A careless wolf was a dead wolf - shot full of arrows, burned alive, drowned, chained up and torn apart by hounds – no matter what form he wore. The humans' mindset was grim and deeply set; their writings were proof as much. Nobody was about to convince them that they were wrong in their presumptions.

_At least most of them_, Timbre thought, prudently. _My friends did eventually get used to the idea_. _Maybe we wolves are just as prejudiced about humans in our own way_. Even so, Timbre reasoned, he wasn't about to reveal himself as such to the world. If he wanted to survive, he'd much rather be the little short boy in the overcoat and gloves than that four-legged shadow that nobody ever fully saw. The fewer that ever knew of his true nature, the better. Those being his friends, and —

"Hi there, Fuzzy!"

Timbre yelped, diving behind a large stack of crates in his alarm. Seconds later, a glowing yellow light with gossamer wings flashed suddenly in his face. "A bit nervous, aren't we?"

The wolf growled under his breath. It was just that fairy, Tatl. Hovering nearby was a smaller purple (though currently to the wolf's eyes it looked dark blue) fairy, her brother Tael. The two were part-time troublemakers, though they split their time between pranks hanging out with many of the town children, unfortunately including his friends. Tatl herself seemed to like to give Timbre lots of attention, possibly because she'd found his dual nature interesting. Then again, maybe she just liked to torment him.

The yellow fairy hovered in front of his muzzle, where his crossed eyes could just barely distinguish a petite female figure in the center of the glow. Tatl snickered, landing daintily on the tip of Timbre's nose. She smelled of daisy pollen and sunbeams. She also tickled and made him really want to sneeze. "Now then. What's a cute little pup like you doing in a place like this?"

"None of your business," Timbre replied, which came out as a soft snort.

"And 'woof' to you, too." The incorrigible fairy snickered. Of course he couldn't speak a human language in this form, and she, like many others, didn't understand lupine language, though she usually got the general idea. She knew that he could understand her teasing perfectly in either form.

Agitated, Timbre's ears went back and he swatted at Tatl with a forepaw. She easily dodged, landing triumphantly back on his nose. The pup shook his head vainly, trying hard not to sneeze.

As if to add insult to injury, Tael floated over and landed on top of Timbre's head, right between the ears. "Sis, leave him alone! Timbre's probably busy."

"Say my name a little louder, won't you?_"_ The wolf growled at them sarcastically.

The yellow fairy wouldn't give up though. "Not until he changes back and he tells me what he's up to!" She uttered, stamping one tiny foot down. The tickling this caused was worse than ever. Timbre shook his head, dislodging Tael. Tatl simply fluttered her wings, keeping her perch with a devilish smirk.

In imminent danger of sneezing, Timbre closed his eyes and tried hard to focus on something other than his itching nose. He breathed in deeply, but even as a hundred different scents from soap to honey to sunbaked clay washed over him, he failed.

"I'm waaaiting, Fuzzy…" Tatl said, tapping her foot impatiently.

Tap, tap, tap…

It was just too much tickling for one nose to bear.

"TCHOOO!"

The sneeze echoed rather loudly through the deserted strip. Tatl, not expecting such a powerful sneeze, was sent somersaulting a fair distance before her wings stabilized her tumble in midair. The fairy was unharmed, but infuriated.

"You little fleabag!" she squeaked. "You did that on purpose!"

This statement was entirely untrue. Timbre did not have fleas (at least he hadn't recently), nor had he sneezed with intent on launching the fairy. _Still_, he thought with satisfaction, _that _was_ pretty funny_. A second later he ducked quickly as the angered glowing creature attempted to dive-bomb him. Still cursing, she zinged up and away above the roofs until she was gone from sight.

"Heh." Tael seemed impressed. "She always hates it when someone gets the better of her. You'll have to teach me that one."

A muffled eruption of cheers and voices from the South District's direction caused Timbre to groan. The fairy's interruption had cost him his chance at spying on the magic act. He held in a few curses as he sunk into a sit. At least the sneeze and commotion hadn't attracted anyone else. Tael began talking again, much to the wolf's exasperation.

"So…I can't help but be curious…what _are_ you up to?"

Timbre quickly shushed the fairy with an upward glance and a grunt. Something was giving him sudden chills up his spine, which in this form made his hackles rise. Taking his instinct as better judgment, he stared up at the stack of crates he had dived behind. There were two stacks of four crates, with a ninth lone crate on top. If he got on top, behind that ninth crate, he would be able to see the alleyway better, as well as stay hidden.

Shaking himself to dislodge the fairy, he took a deep breath. Several types of fruit scents, mixed with fresh cut wood and pine resin hovered in his mind. With a few calculated jumps, he managed to get a perch on the top of the eighth crate, his forepaws propped against the ninth. Peering over the top, he was barely visible as he scanned the strip of deserted stores for movement.

He wasn't kept waiting for long.

Quiet as silk, a shadowy _something_ was making its way down the strip, coming in from the same square that Timbre had originally been headed for. The wolf leaned forward eagerly as the shape tentatively approached. The shadow abruptly stopped, upwind from him. If only he could get its scent, or even a better look-

Although Timbre had decent night-vision, it didn't help unless there was at least some light source nearby. And there wasn't. The same concealment he had wanted for his own safety was now working against him. _Blast_, he thought. _If only there were some light-_

As if on cue, a tentative light zigzagged out from behind the crate stack, headed directly towards the intruder. Timbre's green eyes widened a fraction, but he managed to keep quiet.

_Tael!_ Timbre silently screamed. _Tael, no, don't do that, you idiot!_

As Tael's light illuminated the shadow, he saw a sudden flash of bright eyes and then the four-legged shape bolted back the way it came, as swift and silent as oil rolling off a wet leaf.

Timbre leaned forward in alarm, inadvertently putting all his weight on the crate.

This was an unfortunate thing to do. The ninth crate, which Timbre had been leaning against, had been slowly inching its way towards the edge of the stack from his subtle pressure. Timbre's last little push was all it needed to send it teetering, crazily half-balanced at the edge. Then, as a pit in the wolf's stomach grew, _it fell_.

CRASH!

The wooden structure splintered, its top bursting open. If that wasn't enough of a disaster, the contents of the crate happened to be glass bottles, adding to the cacophony. Every single high-pitched tinkle of glass seemed to cut the air like a knife. Dozens of bottles, many of them now cracked, rolled every which way on the cobblestone street. Hay and old paper that had been packed between the bottles for protection spilled about with a dry moldy smell. Timbre wobbled unsteadily on his hind legs to keep himself from following the fate of the crate and bottles, and managed to keep his balance.

Tael, confused, hovered over the broken crate and cracked bottles.

"Tael, get out of here!" Although Tael couldn't directly understand Timbre's frantic barking, he got the message. An instant later, the fairy had zoomed up over the rooftops, probably to find his sister. Safe.

Timbre, on the other hand, was not. He began to feel a rising panic. There was no way the guard who passed earlier hadn't heard the noise. Leaping down from his perch and cursing himself for being a fool, he did the first thing his instinct told his terrified mind.

_Run_.

The wolf covered the rest of the strip in a heartbeat, dodging cracked bottles that still rolled about. A sudden heavy sweet scent hit his nose, and he nearly slipped as his forepaws landed in something gooey.

_Honey jars_, he thought, distractedly. _Some merchant's going to be furious…_

Headed towards the square that housed the Post Office and the Sword Training Center, he pondered his next move. He had no intention of running to the stage anymore, but he remembered that there was also the Western Gate and an exit to Termina Field to the left. If there was a guard posted, he'd need to be speedy to slip past-

He was just turning the sharp corner with the scent of fresh rosemary all around him when he collided headfirst with a tall silhouette. He wasn't a full grown wolf by far, and so the impact sent him bouncing back onto his tail with a yelp. Dazed, he stared helplessly up at the figure suddenly looming over him.


	4. Chapter 4

An Act to Follow - Part 4: Dance lessons aren't a forte, especially if you're a klutz

Timbre began to shake without control. His ears went back as he stared helplessly upwards at the looming dark figure.

"So this is it, I'm going to die," he whimpered to himself humorlessly, as the figure began to stoop over.

Any second now he would be grabbed by the scruff, there would be the flash of a sword, and it would be all over. He wouldn't even have the chance to cry out. Squeezing his eyes shut, Timbre prepared for the end.

The end never came. Opening one eye, he wondered what the person was waiting for. Maybe he was lucky and they thought he was a stray dog? It had happened before…

"You are not going to die," the figure said to him in a quiet tenor voice.

"Oh no, this is definitely the end," Timbre argued. "There's most likely guards behind me, you're in front of me, and I'm currently cowering on the ground. Let's face it here, I'm a gon…er?" The wolf's frantic yelp trailed off idly as something rather odd stuck Timbre.

As a wolf, he couldn't speak any human language. But this shadow hadn't only not yet killed him, he'd also _understood_ his cowardly babbling. _In fact_, the wolf thought in retrospect, _that voice sounds awfully familiar…_

_And that smell…just like his brother. Cinnamon and fire._

"Kas?" he asked hopefully.

The man said nothing.

Timbre could have barked aloud with relief. Definitely Kasumi. Ty's pacific older brother had a gift for many languages, and could speak to and understand many living things. He also had a habit of showing up exactly when he was really needed. Some older brothers are like that. Kasumi had an overabundance of the color gray - including but not limited to - his hair, his eyes, and his cloak. It gave one the mysterious impression that he wasn't wholly _there_ all the time.

Noises, and loud metallic clanking from behind them caused both of them to look down the street.

"The guards are coming," Kas said simply.

Peering behind him, Timbre noted they weren't _quite_ visible yet. Good. He shut his eyes, and an instant later, a human boy with black hair picked himself up off the ground, shaking the wrinkles out of his black shirt and canvas pants. The aromas of dust and alarm swirling about him dulled as his lupine senses faded.

Two members of the Clock Town Guard arrived from the south a moment later, with a good deal of metallic clattering. One of them was in the standard guard getup, while the other's helmet was trimmed in a golden color. Timbre's heart sank. _Not the Captain_…

"Ho there! You two!"

Timbre tried to put on an innocent face as Kasumi quirked an eyebrow. "Aye?"

"Heard or seen anything suspicious?" The first guard grated.

"A crash, and some dog barking," Timbre offered with a shrug.

The Captain trained a suspicious gaze first on the ten-year-old, then on the gray-haired man standing beside him. "What's a young lad like you doing in a deserted street? Where's your parents?"

Timbre flinched. "Er.."

A third guard arrived and saluted to the second guard before Timbre could stammer any further excuses. "Captain Viscen!"

The Captain momentarily seemed to forget the two civilians existed. "Anything to report?"

Clock Town was a rather typical city when it came to crime. Sure, there was the random petty thievery, the occasional racial squabbles, burglaries, and drink-driven fistfights, but to Timbre's knowledge, this was nothing abnormal for any well-established community. But since an event such as the Midsummer Festival drew in as many criminals as it did tourists, many of the Guard were likely on high alert, treating any kind of questionable action worth a great deal of scrutiny.

The guard saluted again. "We've found tracks, sir."

Timbre barely managed to swallow his grunt of surprise.

"Tracks, you say…" Viscen mused, as if interested.

"In the honey, sir."

"Honey?"

"There's cracked jars of honey rolling everywhere, sir. Some of it's leaked onto the street. What a mess!"

Timbre suddenly wished he'd watched where he was running. He casually clasped his hands behind his back. Sure enough, they felt rather sticky.

"Honey?! Tracks?! If that Skull Kid and his cronies are up to their old tricks again-"

"Sir, pardon me, but those tracks weren't from shoes."

"Oh?" The Captain stroked his chin.

"Paw prints, sir."

"What!" Viscen scoffed.

"Aye sir. Big ones, looks like a dog's."

Swallowing his stomach down, Timbre chanced a hasty glance back at his gloved hands. He tried to be inconspicuous as he hastily wiped them on his pants. The Captain was too busy being interested in other things to notice.

"Surely you don't think-"

"Could be Wolfos prints, sir. But how would something like that get into town? Someone would have seen it!"

The Captain suddenly whirled on Kasumi and Timbre. "You two!"

Kas looked impassively at the man. "Yes sir?"

"You see anything run by here?"

Kasumi was a horrible liar, so he told the truth. "No sir. No Wolfos, if that is what you mean."

Viscen furrowed his brow. "How about you, boy?"

Timbre flinched again. "No, sir."

The Captain was about to ask them if they were sure when his gaze leveled with Kas's passive gray eyes. Breathing out heavily, he finally just said, "Alright. Move along."

Kasumi and Timbre needed no second bidding.

**-;O;-**

Twenty minutes later, South Clock Town was slowly emptying. Now that the show was over, most people were meandering off, either to their homes, or to their temporary lodgings if they weren't locals. Kas and Timbre had no sooner showed their faces before being quickly spotted by Kat and Sond, who were closely followed by the rest of their friends.

"Where have you been, Tim? We were worried!"

Ty just grinned at his brother. "Hi Kas. Thanks for finding him."

The young man blinked. "Hello Ty." He stood awkwardly for a moment, before turning and walking away. "I'll see you all again." Then he was gone.

"Just like fog on the water." Kafei handed Timbre back his overcoat, frowning slightly. "Here you go, and I hope you're happy now."

Link yawned, stretching. "Yeah, have you heard about the vandalism yet? Jim says he heard something went down over in the West District. Heard some of the guards talking about it." Link opened one blue eye in mid-stretch, casting an amused gaze upon the culprit.

"Huh…" Timbre scratched at the back of his head, then quickly wished he hadn't. His hands were still sticky. "Er…fancy that."

Seven pairs of eyes turned severely on the boy. Nothing was immediately said, but eventually the awkward silence needed to be broken. "Uh…That wasn't _you_ by any chance?" Kat offered delicately, keeping her voice down.

Timbre grinned nervously. "Eh…heheh…" Their gazes were starting to make him awkwardly fidget. "What?"

Kafei rolled his eyes skyward. "I _told you. _ Snooping gets you in trouble. Just consider yourself lucky they didn't find you out. Um…they didn't, right?"

"Yeah," Link added. "Too many slipups, and snap!" Timbre flinched tensely as the blond boy snapped his fingers. "The Guards could have a rather _interesting_ little throw-rug in their future."

"It's hardly funny," Chiron warned, "But Link's got a point."

Ignoring Timbre's scowl, Link yawned again. "Well, one day of the Festival over, two more to go. And still no retribution. Must be losing your touch, eh Ty?"

"Don't hold your breath, Fairy Boy," Ty said, tail bristling.

"Boy, I sure am _tired_!" Kat said pointedly, as if she didn't feel like witnessing a late-night brawl. Kafei and Sond took the hint, and started wandering towards East Clock Town, knowing that their friends would automatically follow.

Kafei's parents had been kind enough to offer their son's friends lodgings for the Festival. As kind as this gesture was, Kafei wasn't too sure they had realized how many friends he had. Although the arrangement caused for somewhat overcrowded quarters, it would have been impolite to decline. Eight kids in one bedroom was possible, if slightly cramped.

The group headed briskly though Clock Town's Eastern District, towards the Mayor's residence to the north. As they did they passed the Stock Pot Inn, the largest lodging place in Clock Town. The whole area was still illuminated by the street lamps that were scattered evenly down the avenue, so that late wanderers wouldn't trip over themselves in the dark.

Timbre was idly gazing at the sky, tailing behind the others. He wasn't tired at all. He rarely was this time of night, and his narrow escape had left him wide awake and feeling a little disappointed that his friends were ready to turn in for the night. His meandering slowed to a halt as he caught a sudden bright flicker from somewhere above him. Wondering if it was Tatl or Tael, he looked upwards past the light of a nearby street lamp. His searching eyes abruptly caught a lone figure on the veranda of the Stock Pot Inn. Whoever it was also had their head turned skywards. Squinting, he was just able to make out enough features, thanks to the nearby illumination. It was that girl from the magic act. She stood, elbows resting on the ledge, chin raised slightly. Timbre blinked twice, confused.

_What's she doing up there all alone this time of night? _He wondered.

At this, she seemed to suddenly flinch, and her gaze quickly locked onto his own, mirroring his own confused expression.

Her eyes flickered momentarily, two blue stars in the lamp's light.

For a moment, Timbre was sure he'd gotten another chill up his spine. The girl's brow slowly unfurrowed, and the feeling went away. Boy and girl stared at each other impassively.

Then, at the exact same time, both of them looked away, as if some secret spell had been broken. Timbre chewed his lip, noticing his friends had left him far behind. He was forced to run to catch up with them, all thoughts of the small girl on the roof jogged out of his mind at the same time.

**-;O;-**

"_Goooood morning_!" yelled a voice, a Cucco crowing at the same time. Sond threw open the curtains, filling the bedroom with golden morning light.

"Ughhh…" Link groaned, sitting up groggily. His hat wasn't on and his hair was messy. He opened one bleary eye, seeing Sond sitting in front of him with a big grin on her face. "Whassup?"

Nick groaned, sitting up. The redhead stretched, then flinched as the light hit his face.. "Th' ligh'…Blindin' me. Warn us b'fore ya do that, ok?"

"What time is it?" Kat yawned, squinting down from the upper bunk bed that she and Sond were sharing. Kafei had his own bed below, and the rest of the boys were laid out where they could on the floor.

"Six in the morning!" Sond said cheerfully.

Ty rubbed his eyes. "Why so early? It isn't like we have to save the world today or anything…"

"Don't hold your breath," Kafei muttered. He was already awake, being a habitual early riser. Pulling his other boot on, he added, "There's supposed to be dancing today."

"Like performances?" Kat sat up, rubbing a hand through her hair, which resembled a poofy bush at the moment.

"Well, yeah, but there's also live music and stuff, so everyone can dance."

"Ooh!" Kat and Sond looked at each other with wide eyes.

Chiron poked his head through the doorway, interested.

"Y'hear that, Tim?" Sond prodded the prone form who had yet to move. It growled at her.

"For goodness sakes Tim!" Kafei cried in alarm, then lowered his voice. "You have to look…er, _bipedal_ while you're here. What if my Mom came in and saw you like that?"

The lump shuffled moodily underneath its bedroll.

"Besides, it's time to get up," Sond told him.

"Goway." A black-gloved hand shot out from under the bedroll, snatched a nearby blanket, and then retreated as the lump rolled over.

Kat sniffed. "Grump. We're not letting you sleep all day. Otherwise you'll be up all night."

"That's the _point_." Timbre's voice came, muffled.

Sond scowled. "Look, if you don't get up now, Kat and I are going to find a big bucket of water and _dump it on your head_. See if that doesn't wake you up."

Timbre flung the blanket aside and sat up, glaring at them from behind tousled black hair. "Fine. Sheesh. I'm up." Chiron and Kafei were snickering. "What's so funny?" he snapped at them.

"Your hair." Chiron pointed out. "It's sticking out all over the place."

Timbre gave his head a shake, before retrieving his green headband and tying his unruly bangs back. "I can't help it, that's just the way it is."

"Oh yeah," Kafei said, as if suddenly remembering something. "There's supposed to be fireworks too. Tonight, after dark."

"That sounds neat," Timbre said. "So what'll do we do until then?"

**-;O;-**

"Dancing?!" Timbre's voice was incredulous. "But it's barely eight in the morning!" The group meandered into South Clock Town, where onstage some musicians were busy warming up their instruments. A few Zora dancers were stretching nearby, their blue fishlike fins gracefully extending and retracting.

"Relax. The performance goes until noon, _then_ free dance starts afterward. You'll be plenty awake." Kat stared ahead. "Hey, our seats from last night are still open!"

"But I don't wan-" Timbre sighed as he was ignored, and followed.

Sitting around the crates, Sond pulled out her deck of cards. "Card game, anyone?"

"Sure!" Ty sat down. After a moments thought, he added. "No poker, though."

"And especially not strip poker." Link added.

"Yeah Fairy Boy. Don't want to lose your tunic again."

"Shaddup."

"We're playing Four Giants." Sond said pointedly as she shuffled the cards in a businesslike manner.

"Ah. 'Kay, I'm in." Nick sat down, cross-legged.

Everybody eventually joined in the card game. In the background, South Clock Town slowly filled up as the dance performers flaunted their talents in the square. The accompanying music was lively. There were three musicians, a Hylian flutist, a Zoran lutist, and a portly Goron with a drum.

Everyone groaned as Ty won the hand with a Gerudo Flush.

"This is like the tenth time in a row you've won! I could've sworn this deck has only four aces…You'd better not be cheating, Monkey Boy." Link narrowed his eyes. The milkshake and revenge swearing had not been forgotten.

"I don't need to cheat!" Ty said, puffing up his chest. "I'm just skilled. What's your excuse?"

Kat shook her head as the two glared daggers at each other. "Everything's a competition…"

Kafei won the next hand. Idly glancing up at the sky, he suddenly frowned. "Uh-oh…"

"What?" Chiron looked up too. "Oh, _great_."

The sky was quickly turning overcast.

"It had _better_ not rain," Sond said darkly.

Kat looked uneasy. "Anyone else getting a weird feeling right now? I mean, remember…with the…the Carnival of Time?"

There was a very heavy silence from the rest of the group. They didn't discuss the previous months' events very often, mostly because it still dredged up some too-fresh and ultimately awkward memories. Sometimes it was hard to believe it had happened at all.

Timbre gnawed at a piece of jerky and broke the silence. "Well, the first day it was hot and sunny, the second day it rained, and the third-"

Three months ago a curse on the moon had set it on a crash course towards Clock Town, and the eight of them had been drawn into what could only be described as a counter-temporal loop, where they were forced to endlessly repeat the same trio of days leading up to the disaster until the curse was finally broken. In the end they'd persevered and stopped the moon, though the effort involved had utterly exhausted them. Link especially always did his best to dismiss any discussion on the Carnival of Time. It was as if he didn't really want to remember it at all if he could help it.

"Yeah, yeah, we all remember," the Hylian boy finished shortly. He snorted, then smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. The curse on the moon's gone. It isn't going anywhere."

"Hope you're right…" Kat remarked, looking back down at the game of cards.

**-;O;-**

Lunchtime came and went, and the group eventually abandoned their card game for food before Timbre could remind them. It luckily hadn't yet rained, but it remained threateningly overcast. This was fortunate in that it wasn't quite so warm out as it had been the previous day. But, as Nick reflected, it could have some negative outcomes as well.

"Nay 'ireboomin' if'n it be stormin', y'know," he said over his second bowl of chili.

"That's true. I _really_ hope that isn't the case," Kafei said. "Mom books those fireworks in advance, it would make her really angry."

Everyone shuddered. Madame Aroma was not a pleasant person when her anger was riled. It was wise to keep clear of the overbearing Mayor's wife during such times.

Off in the distance, the Clock Tower tolled once. One o'clock.

"You know what that means!" Sond crowed excitedly, jumping up and hurrying towards the Clock Tower. "Whee!"

Both Link and Ty watched her go, and then they stared intently at each other. Wordlessly they followed after her.

At this, Nick whistled grimly through his teeth before following at a more sedate pace. Chiron nudged him.

"Ten rupees says Link'll have a shiner by quarter-hour."

"…yer on."

Another reason that the Hylian and Volcanian did not get along stemmed from the fact they both seemed quite taken with Sond. Ty was rough and tumble, but charming when he wanted to be, and Sond was the subject of many a shrewd compliment. On the other hand, Link and Sond had grown up together; they'd known each other since before they could remember. The Hylian seemed to show a great dislike when Ty got between him and his childhood friend. They may have been young, but the rest of the friends knew jealousy when they saw it.

Kat sighed, looking at Kafei. "This just might get interesting. You coming?"

Kafei nodded. Timbre stood impassively to the side.

Kat glanced at him. "You should come too."

"But I really don't want to-" Timbre sighed. "Fine. But just to watch, you hear?"

By the time they had reached South Clock Town, the crowds had already thickened. They weren't as bad as they had been yesterday, but it was still troublesome. It appeared many had the same idea that Timbre had, and were simply there to watch. Without another word, the surly boy hopskipped over to their crates, still there from the previous night. Clambering inelegantly up onto one of them, he slumped against the wall, arms crossed below a rebellious scowl.

Kat snorted. "What a Deku stick in the mud." Even as she spoke, the musicians started a new song, a familiar reel called 'Fair Me Zola.' "So, how about it?" she asked Kafei.

Kafei blinked. "Um, sure!"

Nearby, a pair of familiar voices argued.

"I asked her first, Fairy Boy!"

"No, I did!"

Link, and Ty were in the middle of a heated argument over was going to dance with Sond, much to the amusement of the crowd. Rolling her eyes, Kat walked over, still holding Kafei by the wrist.

"You don't know _how_ to dance!"

"Pssh. Who taught the Rosa Sisters that dance? _I did._"

"That wasn't your dancing, it was that creepy ghost's!"

"Still was me doing it!"

"Either way, that dance is stupid!"

"_You're_ stupid!"

"Y'know what, make it twenty," Chiron muttered to Nick.

"_Guys_!" Kat nearly screeched, then she blushed slightly as people turned their way. "I've a better idea. Instead of wasting your time _arguing_, why don't you just take turns?"

Sond smiled gratefully at the thought. "That could be fun!"

As the musicians segued into the second verse of the fast paced reel, Link and Ty locked eyes challengingly.

Leading Kafei back out of the square, Kat rolled her eyes. "Never mind, Kafei. Something tells me this isn't our song."

Behind them, the three-way dance was becoming quite an interesting spectacle. A large crowd was watching in interest. Ty led first. But barely two steps in, he was sent flying by a hip-check from Link.

"My turn!" Link yelled. Two seconds later he was displaced by Ty.

"No, my turn!"

Ty tripped Link with his tail a moment later.

This crazy and fast-paced turn-taking almost turned into a dance by itself, because the subsequent bumpings, trippings, shoves and displacements were in perfect sync with the upbeat music. Many in the crowd stared in wonderment. Others held their sides, trying hard not to fall down laughing, because through it all Sond never missed a beat.

As the song ended, the two competitors were left lying in a dazed heap. Sond, on the other hand, was still standing.

"That was fun!" she admitted, not even out of breath from the crazy dance.

Ty slowly opened his eyes as they all received a sudden thunderous applause from the audience. He wobbled slowly to his feet. "Told you I'm a better dancer!"

"No you're not! They're all applauding me! They can't get enough of _my_ dance skills!" Link jumped up and took a bow, grinning.

"Come here!"

"Yeouch! Why you-"

Nick quietly passed Chiron a red rupee.

From his seat to the side, Timbre raised a disturbed brow. "That," he said to himself, "was the _scariest_ thing I've ever seen in my life."

"Hello!" A voice suddenly piped up next to him.

"Gah!" Timbre yelped and clutched his chest as his heart raced. Fighting the sudden urge to bolt, he turned his head and found himself staring into a pair of twinkling blue eyes. Flailing, he quickly scooted off of the crate. "You scared me!" He accused the intruder, feeling foolish.

It was the girl from the magic show. Somehow she'd managed to get up onto the crate next to him without him even noticing. Smiling demurely, she slid off the crate, taking a step towards Timbre. The boy took a step backwards. She wasn't wearing her costume from yesterday. Her current green dress was much less flashy and her blue-grayish hair was pulled back in a simple tail, rather than a braid. She idly measured up the boy in the overcoat with a mock critical eye, her ungloved left hand tapping her chin.

"We're about the same height," she said suddenly. "That's neat. Usually everyone's taller."

Timbre groaned. Something about this girl was making his stomach turn uncomfortable loop-the-loops. "That's…nice. Er, I got to go," he said suddenly, backing away.

"Leaving so soon? We haven't even introduced ourselves yet! I'm Tejina, but you can call me Tee for short!" She grinned, taking another step forward. "But you probably already know that," she added.

Timbre blinked, taking another step back. "Um. I'm Timbre."

Tejina grinned. "Timbre, eh? So, Timbre, do _you_ want to dance?"

"Uh, I dunno, I don't really daaaaaaaa-!" His excuse faded into a wail of dismay as Tejina suddenly lunged for his wrist. A moment later she was dragging him towards the open square, his left wrist held fast in her left hand. Digging his heels in, Timbre flailed with his free arm as nearby crowd members guffawed at his pleas. "Please no! I don't know how to dance! I'm too clumsy, really!"

"Nonsense. I'll teach you how." The girl said without turning her head. "Good, a new song's starting. Sounds like the 'Clock Town Hornpipe.' I've danced to this one before. You ready?"

"No!"

"Well, for one thing, you have to be facing the right way." She quickly spun Timbre around, who slumped, resigned to his fate. "Second, you stand like this for better balance." She stood with her feet a foot apart, and Timbre slowly copied her. "And third, you go with the music, starting with the right foot. I'll do the rest. You got that?"

"Wha-" The music's tempo picked up with a flourish before his thought could finish. Timbre suddenly found himself grabbed by both hands and whirled about like a top. Tejina's grip was surprisingly strong, and while _he_ felt suddenly dizzy, the motion didn't seem to bother her at all. As they spun, Tejina winked cheerfully.

"Relax, Timbre. You're as tense as a frozen rag in midwinter!"

Timbre groaned. He was afraid if he opened his mouth he'd be sick. He wasn't sure if this girl was seriously attempting to murder him, but he hoped the dizzy pace would soon come to an end.

As if she'd read his mind, Tejina stopped spinning. Timbre suddenly found himself standing perfectly still while Tejina twirled gracefully under his outstretched hand. Several crowd members applauded their approval.

As Tejina abruptly whirled to a stop, Timbre was suddenly smacked in the face by her ponytail. Her hair smelled strongly of rosemary and-

Spinning him about-face before he could finish the thought, the girl immediately picked up the breakneck whirling pace as the music sped up. "Say, I couldn't help but noticing that funny mark across your left eye. Is it a tattoo or something?"

"No, I was born with it!" Timbre grated between his teeth. It annoyed him when people asked him about that. It wasn't like he could help that it was there.

As the song continued, the pit in his stomach slowly faded. He even felt a little more relaxed, like he was a thread being pulled along by a skilled needle instead of a puppet on a string. For all her boldness and bravado, Tejina really was a good dancer. With the wind whistling past them as they weaved inbetween the other dancers, it almost felt like they were flying rather than dancing-

_But it's not like I'm enjoying this or anything_, he thought stubbornly_._

"Okay!" Tejina called out. "Here comes the end of the song!"

"Huh?"

"You ready for this? Hope so!" With a deft flick of the wrist, she sent Timbre into one last spin. As the music came to a closing flourish, she let go of his hand, and the boy suddenly overbalanced. Just as the music stopped, Timbre landed flat on his backside with a whoosh that completely knocked the wind out of him.

The crowd cheered loudly as Tejina took a bow. Winded, Timbre gasped for air as he staggered upright, feeling exceptionally light-headed. He half-heartedly waved off the crowd as they applauded. His forehead tickled. Looking up, he noticed his bangs were in his face. Brushing them back, his fingers touched bare skin. His headband was missing.

Not finding it on the ground, he looked over to his dance partner. "Did you see-?"

But the girl was quickly trotting triumphantly away from the square, something green dangling about her right wrist. She looked back, grinned mischievously, and bolted.

**-;O;-**

Nearby, Kat, Sond and Kafei were holding their sides from laughing, though Ty and Nick both looked impressed.

"You have to admit, that girl knows her moves. Tim's not so bad himself when he's motivated."

"Aw, I could do that easy." Link said moodily, poking gingerly at his swollen left cheek.

"She dumped 'im righ' on his bum at th' end though. prolly on purpose…" Nick mused, rubbing his chin. "Still, didn' know th' _lobo_ knew 'ow t' dance."

"Yeah," Chiron agreed. "Oops, there she goes. Guess she's got business elsewhere."

Everybody blinked as Timbre suddenly jumped up and ran after Tejina, yelling incoherently.

There was an awkward pause. Link coughed delicately to break the silence.

"Heh, didn't know Timbe could run so fast either," he quipped.


	5. Chapter 5

An Act to Follow - Part 5: One can run, but one can't always hide

He really hated these meetings.

Mayor Dotour shifted uneasily on his official chair. He'd never known just why a Mayor would have use for such a fancy thronelike seating arrangement, especially one that was so uncomfortable. Unfortunately, the chair was an inheritance and Mayoral tradition. With a sigh, he turned his eyes on Captain Viscen of the Clock Town Guard.

"Captain, are you sure such measures are necessary?"

The Captain nodded gravely, stroking his moustache. He wasn't wearing his helmet at the moment, but he still cut an impressive figure. "Your Honor, for the safety of those in the city and for the good of the Festival, it is my belief that we must take all measures with extreme caution. For safety reasons, sir, it would be in our best interest-"

The Mayor sighed. "This is all very uninformative, Captain. What makes you so sure this wasn't just a skulker making a bad move or just some wayward child poking things that shouldn't be touched? I refuse to authorize any hasty decisions just because you have a _hunch_."

As Dotour stared meaningfully at his Captain, he was sharply reminded of the incident three months ago. Viscen had always been a meticulous soldier, with a strong urge to protect the innocent. The Mayor had hoped that the lessons learned from the Carnival of Time would temper the more paranoid side of his Captain's tendencies, but it seemed to have only made them stronger than ever.

Clearing his throat, the Captain stated simply, "Your Honor, we found evidence that whatever was in West Clock Town that night wasn't human. There were tracks found-"

Raising an eyebrow, the Mayor's normally tacit expression turned slightly concerned as the Captain continued.

"This evidence is only the latest in a series of reports and claims from the past few months of…_something_ possibly roaming Clock Town-"

"Hearsay and rumors are _not_ supportable evidence, Viscen."

"The tracks, sir. We've cordoned the area. They are Wolfos tracks, sir. I believe there may be cause for alarm."

The Mayor stroked his chin, agitated.

"There are many people in this town, many here for the Festival. If something _were_ to happen-"

Mayor Dotour closed his eyes, nodding. "Yes, yes of course. But what can we do about…well…"

Viscen nodded. "I have an…acquaintance who deals with these sorts of things all the time. As he happened to be in the area, his summons was sent as a precaution. I need your authorization to commission him."

Mayor Dotour blinked. "Are you sure this…contact of yours is trustworthy? He isn't going to, uh, work blatantly, is he?" The Mayor had an unpleasant vision of a man dragging a bloodied Wolfos corpse though the festival-laden streets in broad daylight.

"Well," the Captain said, "He certainly does his job, if that's what you mean. And he's very discreet about…disposals."

"Well, thank the fates for that," the Mayor said. "Just as long as nobody gets hurt."

**-;O;-**

"Come back here!"

Timbre was hardly discreet with his temper at the moment. As soon as Tejina heard him yelling, she'd taken off into the crowd like an arrow. _No way you're going to lose me that easily_, the boy thought angrily, running after her.

She was incredibly quick; he'd give her that. How she managed to so easily navigate the crowd was beyond him, maybe it was another magic trick. Stumbling awkwardly through the crowd, he saw the hem of her green skirt as it whipped around a corner and down a small side street, which led to a subdistrict of South Clock Town called the Laundry Pool.

_Good. There's no other way out of there. She'll be cornered_, Timbre thought. Rounding the corner, he nearly fell flat on his face going down the incline as he tripped over his own feet. "I'm so gonna get you for this-huh?"

He stared down the empty alleyway leading to the Laundry Pool. Timbre glanced around hastily as he gritted his teeth.

The Laundry Pool was one of the only surface evidences of the river that ran underneath Clock Town. In the spring, the rushing water pressure got so high that a small trickle diverted to the surface, filling the pool. The water dwindled during the summer, but usually lingered in part throughout the rest of the year, supplying the walled settlement with fresh water. Normally town residents could be found visiting the small park to do their washing or just to relax. Today, with the festival in full swing, the area was completely empty save for some stray sparrows and the sound of the odd frog croaking from the pool's shallows.

"I know you're in here!" Timbre yelled aloud. "I don't know why you decided to steal from me, but I'm _not_ gonna leave you alone until you give it back, d'you hear me?!"

There was no reply. Incensed, Timbre stared around. Then, something jabbed him in the back.

"Aaah!" The furious boy whirled to stare into the grinning young girl's face. She was wearing Timbre' headband.

"Hello!"

"Give it back. _Now_." Timbre grated between his teeth, growling despite himself.

Tejina's eyes sparkled merrily. "Tell you what: you catch me before I make it back to the Stock Pot Inn, and I'll give it back."

"You-" Timbre lunged for her, but the girl nimbly dodged away, running back up the pathway to South Clock Town.

"I'll see you there, Timbre!"

Holding back a dozen curse words, the infuriated boy followed, yelling threats the entire way as he headed back up the incline.

"Ooh, you'll be sorry you messed with me, I'll make sure y-oof!"

He turned the corner so abruptly that he didn't have time to stop before colliding with the person who had been unlucky enough to be in his path. For the second time since the Festival began, Timbre bounced backwards, sitting down hard. Whoever he'd collided with, the boy thought, looking up, they must be huge.

And he was right. A tall, large-shouldered man who could have given Kei a run for his money stood impassively before Timbre. Looking up slowly, Timbre's eyes remained riveted on the glassy dark stare of the stranger. Timbre's eyes widened and he suppressed a shudder as he realized something.

The man smelled strongly of the dead animal skins his clothes were made from, especially the furs that trimmed those clothes. The boy shivered nervously as he slowly stood. The man's dark eyes narrowed ever so slightly. He had a hunter's stare.

Taking a step backwards, Timbre stammered an apology. "M'sorry mister, uh, bye!" Before he could stop himself, he'd slipped back down the incline towards the Laundry Pool, heart hammering in his chest. Something about that guy would give anybody the creeps, but those furs...he was almost sure that they were…

He shook his head, suppressed another shudder, and chased the thought from his mind. He still had a thief to catch. With her agility and his delay, there was no way he was going to catch her now. Unless…

The small grassy Laundry Pool area was surrounded on three sides by tall, thick stone walls, while the fourth side consisted of the backs of several buildings from the Western District. Several piles of wood and a discarded carpenter's ladder leaned against the easternmost wall, likely leftovers from the mainstage construction.

Looking both ways to make sure he wasn't being watched, Timbre clumsily climbed up the ladder, slipping a few times. Soon he stood on the thatched roof of what he was pretty sure was the Curiosity Shop. The clock was easily visible in the distance, now that he was above the roofline.

_Well, if I'm going to catch her now_, Timbre thought, _I'll need to go on the rooftops, and be quick about it, too. Can't afford to be clumsy either, that's a long fall._

Removing his overcoat, Timbre kneeled on the scratchy thatch, still on the lookout. Nobody in the crowd was actually looking up, as they were too busy with what was in front of their noses. Good. Quickly, Timbre folded his coat, rolled it into a small, neat bundle, and placed it carefully on the thatch.

The sensible part of him was desperately arguing that he should be careful after what had happened last night, that he should just give up and ignore this girl completely.

_Or go ask Kei or Ana to make her give it back_. But the boy shook his head angrily as the memory of those blue eyes staring challengingly into his own struck him. Without fully realizing it, he abruptly changed forms, picked up the bundle in his mouth, and gauged his first roof jump. The world suddenly smelled overpoweringly of oil, old hay, angry cats, and sparrow feathers.

_Caution will just have to wait. If I'm quick about it, I can get away with this, _the wolf reassured himself_. All I need to do is jump along the roofs on the perimeter of town until I reach East Clock Town, then it's just a big jump to the Milk Bar's roof, then another jump and I'm on top of the Stock Pot Inn, long before that thief makes it back._

The wolf took off purposefully, trotting along the highway of golden thatch.

Moments after Timbre left, the large man he had collided with stepped into the Laundry Pool area. Glancing around, he rubbed his large stubbly chin thoughtfully. He hadn't bothered to shave this morning. But he kind of liked that. It gave him a discouraging air. It was to his mild surprise that the young child who had bumped into him was nowhere to be seen. Those eyes…

"Kids," he grunted slightly. _But no matter about disappearing brats_, he thought, turning to leave. _I've bigger fish to fry._ He had an appointment to keep.

**-;O;-**

"So, where do you think Tim went?" Kat chewed her lip fretfully as Link shrugged, prodding gingerly at his bruised cheek. He'd fished a small bottle out of his belt pouch that contained some healing potion and was quietly dabbing some on the bruise, hoping Ty wouldn't notice.

"Well, he was yelling like crazy. Then he ran off after that girl from the magic show. Good luck finding 'em in that crowd now," Link snickered, and then winced.

"The fact that he was actually on the dance floor is weird enough. And since when does he chase after girls?" Ty asked, tail twitching. "That's not like him at all."

"Yeah," Kat smirked. "He leaves that to you two."

Link and Ty blushed and laughed nervously, looking over at Sond, who grinned ruefully and rolled her eyes.

"Seems unlikely to me," Sond remarked, "But…she's trained in slight of hand, we all saw her at that show last night. Wouldn't take much to go from slight of hand to pickpocket, really."

Nick nodded. "Righ'. So th' _lobo_'_s_ not girl chasin', 'ees… thief chasin'?"

"So it would seem," Chiron remarked.

"Gosh," Kafei said. "How can you tell the difference?"

**-;O;-**

So far, so good.

There hadn't been any shouts of 'monster,' there had been no screams from the crowd below (save for the normal festive revelry) and no arrows or projectiles had come flying at him. As he had thought, the festival-goers were just too wrapped up in the day's events to pay any notice to one small black and white creature running rooftop to rooftop.

Because the outer perimeter of Clock Town was heavily fortified, the houses along that perimeter were literally built into each other. This meant that their roofs ran flush with little to no gaps. This made it an easy task to simply sprint across, and Timbre was barely even breathing heavily before he'd circled completely around the South and East districts. Now came the tricky part. Gauging the distance between his current roof and the Milk Bar's, he gathered himself up for the leap.

"Oof!" He landed with a grunt, on top of the Milk Bar. His legs were better suited for long jumps in this form, but he was still young; it was with a good deal of scrabbling that he pulled himself upright, with the smell of sweet cream wafting from below. At the moment, Timbre cared little about clumsiness or cream. He just wanted to get back at Tejina for stealing from him. He'd teach that little showoff a lesson…

_Still nobody watching? Good_. He slid carefully across the Milk Bar's roof, gauging his final jump, which would take him to the Stock Pot Inn's roof. The gap between was slightly wider than his previous jump, so it looked like he'd need a running start. Taking as much leeway as he possibly could, Timbre bounded forward and jumped again.

This time his landing was much more graceful. He quickly slid down to the southern side of the roof, away from the large veranda that adorned the eastern side. Fortunately nobody had been up there to spot him, so it looked like he was in the clear.

Given the crowds and Tejina's talent at slipping through them so easily, he'd mentally figured it would take her at least five minutes to get here on foot. It had taken him about four due to his delay and subsequent shortcut. Now it was just a matter of watching and waiting.

_And looking human,_ a sensible voice hurriedly reminded him. Timbre had courted a moment's idea of giving the girl a real scare, but then very quickly figured better of it. Changing back before he could revisit that idea, the boy opened the bundle and shook the coat a few times to get the wrinkles out. He was just shrugging back into it when something out of the corner of his eye made him turn his head.

A small girl in a green dress was just visible sneaking amongst the crowd. As she saw the Stock Pot Inn, she broke into a triumphant grin and headed for the building like an arrow.

_Aha,_ the boy thought. _Right on schedule._

Tejina thought she was home free as she ran towards the Inn's door. But mere feet from the doorknob, something suddenly dropped down in front of her, grabbing for her outstretched right hand.

She yelped in surprise as Timbre suddenly held her fast by her gloved wrist. The green-eyed boy smirked at her wide-eyed expression of shock.

"_Got you_," he growled.

Moments later _he_ yelped in surprise; suddenly he found himself suspended upside down, dangling six feet in the air by one foot. He stared, wide-eyed, at the upside down and bemused face of Keisou. He wriggled helplessly, frantically fighting the instinct to start madly snapping at anything within reach.

"Hoy there," Kei grunted dangerously. "What have you got against my little sister? She doesn't have cooties, you know."

"Uh…" Timbre stammered. "Hi Kei…it uh…wasn't like that." The boy grinned out of sheer nervousness. His heart was racing, and he felt lightheaded and flushed as all the blood rushed to his head.

Kei coughed in surprise when he heard his name. "Wait a second, you're one of those kids that me 'n Ana met yesterday noon." He squinted. "Kid with th' coat…Timbre, wasn't it?"

"Uh, yeah." Glancing down (or up, from his perspective), Timbre noticed Tejina peering from behind Keisou's leg. So that was her game, to act the victim in front of her older brother? He frowned. She was still wearing his headband too. "Um, Kei. Do you mind putting me down, please?"

"First you answer a few questions," Keisou replied, opening the inn's door and stepping inside. "You're coming too, Tee."

Tejina looked like she was about to argue, but then followed meekly.

Inside the Stock Pot Inn's lobby, Keisou and his prisoner turned several heads. Anju the innkeeper (and Kafei's older brother's wife) stood at the counter and made a small confused sound. A scruffy-haired blonde boy turned his head from his plant-watering job, also wearing a perplexed expression. Several other nearby patrons coughed politely, as if this scene was unpleasant to them. Kei paid them no heed.

"Alright," Kei said. "Question number one: why are you after Tee?"

Swinging slightly from side to side, Timbre stammered out in a loud voice, "She stole my headband! See, she's wearing it!"

Blinking, Kei glared down at his sister, who smirked guiltily. "Question number two: How in blazes did you manage to catch her?" Kei said in a bewildered, almost respectful tone.

"Uh," Timbre stammered. He didn't want to lie, but there was no way he was going to tell the truth. Not in front of all of these people! "Uh, I knew a shortcut," he said finally. There. Not a lie at all.

"Hmm…" Keisou smiled, letting Timbre down gently with a bump. "Have to admit, I'm pretty impressed. Tejina's a real squirt. I've never seen anyone get the better of her like that."

Timbre brushed himself off smugly, and looked over at Tejina. To his satisfaction, her face was flushed with livid embarrassment.

Now, Tee…" Keisou kneeled down to his sister's level and looked stern. "Stealing's wrong, you know that. I want you to apologize, and return what you stole."

Tejina nodded curtly. Removing the headband, she held it out at arm's length in Timbre's direction. Drawing herself to her full height with primly closed eyes, she spoke without sympathy. "I apologize for stealing, Timbre."

"Apology accepted," Timbre replied in the same tone, snatching the headband back and hastily tying his hair back up. _And serves you right,_ he thought.

Turning her back on him with crossed arms, Tejina stuck her nose up in the air. "Why you even cared about that dumb old thing I'll never know," she said boldly. "I would've given it back."

Without thinking, Timbre found himself fiercely retorting, "It's special. It belonged to my mother!" It was suddenly his turn to flush, and he clapped a hand over his mouth, stunned. Why on earth had he said that?

"Well, she ought to make you a new one, that one's wearing out." The girl sneered, refusing to turn.

Timbre stiffened. "My mother died a long time ago," he said fixedly, his throat tight and his voice forced. Turning on his heel, he ran quickly for the door. The girl blinked as if stunned. She turned her head a tiny fraction as she heard the door slam behind her.

**-;O;-**

Frustrated, Timbre sat down heavily against the Inn's south wall and hung his head. His first urge had been to run, though town, through the east gate, across the fields and possibly just on forever. He'd stifled that urge, and then realized how exhausted he really felt. He'd been dancing, chasing, running, jumping, and arguing, and to top it all off, he now had no idea where his friends were. Gulping heavily, he held back several frustrated tears, fumbling in his coat pockets as he had the impulsive urge to bite something. He was out of jerky, but quickly found a strip of thin leather that smelled waxy, like it had been used to wrap a bundle of Sond's arrows at some point.

"_Why'd she have to say that?!"_ Timbre bit down furiously on the leather. "_She had no right to! None at all! First she embarrasses me, then steals from me, and then gets mad when she doesn't win her little game!_"

The leather strip snapped unceremoniously in half, and Timbre stared guiltily about. He'd been involuntarily growling the whole time. Fortunately, it didn't appear that anyone had noticed. They were all too busy being happy to notice one small boy huddled miserably against the wall of the Inn. Sighing, chin in hands, Timbre stared resolutely out at the world.

A few minutes later, the Inn's door opened, and Keisou stepped out. Glancing down at Timbre, the blue-haired Hylian greeted him. "Hey. You're still here?"

Timbre just shrugged gloomily as Kei sat down beside him with a grunt.

There was a brief awkward silence, then Kei spoke. "I want to apologize for Tee's behavior. She's really slow to warm up to people. She's…well, just like that. It isn't you."

Timbre sniffed. "She didn't need to s-say those things."

"I agree, and I did speak to her about that. I think she said those things because she was embarrassed that somebody got the better of her. She doesn't like losing."

"Neither do I," Timbre remarked.

"Actually, I think she was secretly impressed. "

"Huh?"

"That look on her face when you dropped down in front of her, if only I'd had a pictograph box with me! She's impressed that you managed to catch her, though she'll never admit it." Kei smirked. "Actually, I think that was quite good for her. Going through life thinking you're invincible isn't a good thing, especially for someone like her."

"…Mmm."

"Tell you what, Timbre. To make up for Tee stealing your headband, and to celebrate its recovery, how about I treat you and your friends to some ice cream this afternoon? I heard there's an excellent vendor down by the merchant's tent all the way from Holodrum."

"My friends? But where-"

As if summoned on cue, Timbre looked up to see his friends approaching in a muddle out of the crowd. They waved and yelled out random greetings.

"Hey there Tim!"

"You ran off rather quickly!"

"Where's that girl?"

"Didja catch th' _vixae_, _lobo_?"

Kei blinked, looking at Timbre. "Do your friends always talk like that?"

"It's kind of a dialect thing. Hi!" Timbre waved, cheering up a bit. "Kei says he's going to buy us ice cream!"

"Hey, great! Just so long as Fairy Boy doesn't pour any down the back of my shirt!" Ty whooped.

"Don't worry, I'd never do _that_ again…" Link grinned craftily.

The door to the Inn cracked open an inch and one blue eye looked out at everyone. "Kei," a small voice intoned. "May I please come too?"

Kei looked back at the door. "I don't think that's up to me." Turning to Timbre, Kei asked him a question. "Is it alright if Tee comes with us?"

Timbre looked from the crack in the door to Keisou. He chewed his lip, staring at the ground. She'd said some nasty things…but still, maybe Kei was right about her. Besides if he said no, she might just do something even worse to him later to get revenge. She seemed like the type who would retaliate.

_Besides, I can always just ignore her, _he concluded. _And doesn't everyone deserve ice cream? Not that I care what she deserves or anything_.

Finally, Timbre just shrugged. "Sure, whatever."

Kei looked to the eye in the door. "Alright Tee, you can come with us. Just be glad Tim's such a nice guy."

Tejina squealed, running out of the doorway. She jumped into her brother's lap, throwing herself around his neck. "Thank you Kei!" Kei inclined his head slightly and cleared his throat meaningfully. Tejina spun around, glancing guiltily at Timbre. "And thank you too, Timbre," she said, sounding quiet and withdrawn, completely opposite from their last conversation.

"You're welcome," Timbre said weakly. He wasn't sure if he'd done the right thing or not.

**-;O;-**

All ten of them lounged on crates outside the merchant's tent as the afternoon passed them by. For a while, nobody said much at all because everyone was too busy with their ice creams. Timbre stared forward and said nothing, though his ice cream was long gone. Timbre wasn't one for revenge, but he was quite good at holding silent grudges. Ultimately, Tejina broke the silence, looking at Nick, who was making mildly agonized faces as he licked his ice cream.

"Are you okay?" she asked, sounding concerned.

Ty smirked, his tail twitching. "Nick is just fine. He and I are Volcanians you know, so we're naturally able to withstand lots of heat. Even open fire can't hurt us. The downside of that is we're very vulnerable to cold, even if it's just ice cream."

"Then why eat it?" Tejina asked, perplexed.

"The same reason everyone else eats spicy food, even though it burns their mouths. We like the taste. Of course, Nick can handle anything spicy they can dish out. But even _show_ him an ice cream cone and he gets a headache."

"I still eatn' it, Ty." Nick retorted.

Kei blinked. "Hmm, Volcania. The land of dragons? Never been there myself, heard stories though. Way off the beaten path. Up a mountain. Hotsprings and jungles."

"That's the one," Ty said, nodding.

"I've also heard legends that the people there have dragon's blood in their veins," Kei said, smiling indulgently.

Ty and Nick shrugged at each other wordlessly, then looked back at Kei.

"So do all Volcanians have tails?" Tejina suddenly asked, curious.

It was Nick's turn to laugh. "Nah, tha'n be Ty's own 'lil quirk." Sond quietly elbowed Link in the side before he could add any extra comment.

Tejina smiled. "That sure would be useful to have, wouldn't it, Kei? It'd make some of our tricks a lot easier to do."

Kei looked thoughtful for a moment. "I suppose. But then it would be hard to find pants that fit."

Link's snigger turned into a grunt of pain as Sond's elbow dug sharply into his ribs for a second time.

"So," Kei said, "are you kids from around here? Never did find out before you ran off yesterday."

"Well…" Kat murmured. "Kafei's dad is the Mayor, as you know. We're all staying at his house right now. I'm originally from Kakariko Village in Hyrule."

Tejina smiled. "I've heard of Hyrule." Kei just nodded as Kat continued.

"Well, you already know Nick and Ty are from Volcania, but actually a lot of us are from Hyrule. Link and Sond here grew up in the Lost Woods, and Chiron grew up near Gerudo Valley."

"What about Timbre?" Tejina asked, looking at the boy in question, who flinched moodily.

Kat looked at Timbre, as if willing him to answer. When Timbre just glared at her in response, she rolled her eyes. "Uh, Tim's from up north," Kat finished, glaring back.

Kei blinked. "I see. So where are all your parents, then?"

Everybody shuffled uncomfortably. Kei frowned.

"You aren't here by yourselves, are you?"

"Well," Link said finally, "kind of."

"I mean, I'd heard Hyrule had a little trouble a while back-"

"Uh, well…" Link began awkwardly. "It's kind of a long story…"

**-;O;-**

"And then what happened?" Tejina sat, wide eyed next to her brother.

"Well, the Four Guardian Giants of Termina stood foursquare over Clock Town, stretched their arms high in into the sky, and _caught_ the moon as it fell," Link said.

"Wow!"

"And then, " Sond continued, "The Skull Kid wearing Majora's Mask collapsed. But that wasn't the end of it. The mask itself came to life, for it was behind the curse all along!"

"And then what?"

Sond looked over at Link, who shuffled anxiously, rubbing at his left hand. "Well," she said in his stead, "Link here's an amazing swordsman. You wouldn't believe some of the things we've seen him do. He's fought that kind of thing before, so it wasn't that big of a deal for him."

"So you fought it? And won? Wow!" Tejina seemed really impressed.

Link finally smiled a little. "Yeah, I guess it was pretty great. But it really wasn't fun or great feeling at the time. It's pretty exhausting, saving the world. Now that it's over, I'd much rather move on and get back to being just a normal kid, you know?"

Kei hadn't said much during Link's story. He leaned back a little, grinning. "Hmm…Ana and I'd heard something about a crisis in Termina this spring. You kids do tell a good a tall tale."

"Don't worry, mister, nobody in town really believes us either. To be honest, I'd rather it stay that way. The only thing that really matters is that the town didn't explode, but since you asked-" Here Link switched his ice cream cone into his right hand, and fumbled in a side pouch with his left. He withdrew a beautiful pearlescent blue object and held it up for both of them to see.

"This," Link declared, "is the Ocarina of Time, sacred treasure of the Royal Family of Hyrule. I was asked by Princess Zelda herself to hang onto it for a while. If it weren't for this, all of Clock Town would've been destroyed, and maybe all of Termina too."

Tejina and Kei stared.

"So yeah, that's why we're here. We've been taking it easy in Clock Town for a few months. Actually, I wouldn't mind staying here even longer, but sooner or later I'll need to bring this back to Hyrule for good." Link remarked, stowing the ocarina back in his pocket.

Kei stared at the green clad Hylian boy as if seeing him for the first time. Shaking his head, he finally stood up. "Well, I hope you all enjoy the ice creams. I've got to get back to Ana before she starts wondering. Tee, if you want to stay for a while longer that's fine, but don't stay too late. We have a show tonight."

"Alright!" Tejina said. "I'll remember!"

As Kei wandered off, Link smirked as he bit off the pointed bottom of his ice cream cone. "It's kinda fun to completely blow someone's mind like that."

"It'll spill all over you now, you know, now that you took the bottom off," Kafei remarked to Link.

"Oh, don't worry. Watch!" Tilting the cone, Link blew sharply into the end of it like a blowpipe, launching his last scoop of ice cream (cherry flavored). It flew through the air and landed with a resounding _splat_ on the top of Ty's head.

"Yeow!" Ty jumped up, clutching his head.

"Nice aim," Tejina said, giggling.

Ty whirled on Link, his odd eyes flashing dangerously. "I am going to kill you," he said in a deceptively calm manner.

Sond shook her head and breathed a frustrated sigh as Link sped off, Ty hot on his heels. "There they go again."

"I take it that's pretty normal for them?" Tejina said, gaining several nods in response. "Why?"

"Well, they've just been like that ever since they first met," Kat said delicately. Sond sighed gloomily.

"I _like_ them both," she said finally. "But honestly, they each act as if I can only be friends with _one_ of them."

Kat leaned reassuringly on her shoulder. "It's flattering that they care so much."

"Yeah, I guess. And the dancing this morning was fun, but…" Sond looked almost anguished for a moment. "Well, I mean…we're just _kids_. I just wish they weren't so set on being enemies."

"Ah, Ty 'n Link ain' enemies," Nick reassured her. "They'n jus' dun know 'ow else t'show bu' by bein' rivals. Th' been a Volcanian word fer it: _acerkaiis. Acer_ meanin' sour, an _kaii _meanin' frien', yeh see?"

Sond smiled faintly. "Sour friends. That sure describes them all right."

"Point is," Kafei cut in, "we've all been through too much together to be _enemies_."

"And if they didn't really care, they wouldn't try so hard to outdo each other," Chiron added seriously.

Timbre wished he hadn't eaten his ice cream so quickly. Now he was stuck staring blankly down at the cobblestone street, listening to his friends talk about people who didn't like each other when they actually did, while Tejina waited for an excuse to make conversation with him.

_Fat chance of that_, he thought dourly.

Then, a gray figure stood quietly behind Timbre and Tejina and said nothing. Both noticed him and turned their heads at the exact same time.

It was Kasumi, of course.

"Oh, hi Kas," Timbre remarked casually. Looking at Tejina's confused gaze, he simply said, "He's Ty's brother," then proceeded to ignore her again.

Kasumi looked down at Tejina, regarding her for a moment. "Afternoon," he said finally. After another moment of contemplation, he said, "Timbre, I need to talk to you for a moment."

"Ah. Okay." As Kasumi moved away, Timbre stood and followed him, confused. Tejina looked at them questioningly, as if she wanted to follow. Stopping, Timbre turned his head and gave her a sharp look that plainly said 'stay.' Then he followed Kasumi, finding him leaning passively against a wall behind the merchants' tent. There were people shopping around, but if they spoke in low voices, nobody would care to overhear.

"The Guard is on alert." Kasumi said simply.

"What?" Timbre was still confused.

"They think there's a rogue Wolfos loose in town. They're afraid it might attack someone."

Timbre swallowed guiltily.

Kasumi continued. "I thought you should be informed. Don't get into trouble."

Timbre flinched, and felt like sinking into the ground. Even though Ty's brother rarely raised his voice, his quiet admonishment was enough that he might as well have. The boy hung his head.

"M'sorry…"

A bright yellow light suddenly popped out from under Kasumi's cloak. It hovered directly in front of Timbre face, bopping him lightly on the forehead.

"Yeah, you should be! Next time think before you sneeze!"

Timbre sighed. "Hello Tatl. That _was_ an accident. Wol-er, _I_ have a sensitive nose. It tickles like crazy when you poke at it."

Tael appeared next, hovering next to his sister. "I apologize. She's working on her poking habit…"

"But it's so fun!" Tatl whined.

Kasumi blinked. Running a hand through gray hair, he looked at Timbre. "I spoke to these two about last night. They had a lot to say."

The overcoated boy frowned. "Like what?"

"You saw something else besides you, the guards, and the fairies in West Clock Town, yes?"

"Yeah…bu-"

"I told the Captain I saw no Wolfos, but I too saw _something_ right before you showed up last night."

Timbre looked on with wide eyes. "Why did you lie to him?"

"I did not lie," Kasumi said, and paused, leaning in close so that not even the fairies could overhear, his voice a dry murmur. "_There is another wolf in Clock Town_."

The words struck home like a swiftly kicked hornets' nest.

"Take care, Timbre. Tell Ty and everyone else I said hello." Having said this, Kasumi turned and walked mysteriously away.

Timbre wandered back to the group in a mild daze, the two fairies tagging along behind him. At the moment they were arguing over the best ice cream flavors, but the boy wasn't really listening. He sat down automatically. Tejina gave him a weird look.

"He didn't stay for long," she remarked idly.

Timbre didn't answer, staring off into the distance where Ty and Link were still engaged in their chase. The fairies orbited slowly over Tejina's head, much to her delight and surprise.

"Oh, you're _fairies_! Hello!"

Tael hovered in front of her face, and as Tejina turned her head curiously to one side, Tael mirrored the gesture. "Hello, who're you? Are you friends with Timbre?"

As Timbre peered at her out of the corner of his eye, Tejina carefully said, "Uh…not yet." Timbre grunted and looked away again. "My name's Tejina, but people call me Tee for short."

"I'm Tael, and that's my sister Tatl. Hey, wait a second, I know you!" Tael crowed suddenly, causing the girl to flinch. "You were in that magic show last night! You gotta tell me, how did you disappear out of that box?"

"Sorry, I can't tell. It's a secret to everybody." The girl grinned.

"Not even a tiny hint?" Tael begged.

"Nope." Tejina crossed her arms. "And don't even think about snooping on our act either."

"Ahaha. we'd never do that!" Tatl said unconvincingly. The fairy bobbed over Timbre's head. "Ain' that right, Fuzz-aack!"

Without warning, Timbre had aimed an angry swat in her direction.

The fairy deftly dodged, grinning. "Oh you are so _fun_ when I can aggravate you! C'mon, try and hit me again!"

Timbre rolled his eyes. "No. Go away."

Tatl breathed a dramatic sigh. "You really need to lighten up, kid!"

"Don't want to."

"C'mon Tatl, just leave him be," Tael pleaded.

"Don't you two have somewhere else to be?" Timbre snapped. "Go bother Skull Kid or the Bombers or something."

"Skull Kid's gone off to Hyrule for the week, and the Bombers aren't nearly as fun as you guys," Tatl replied swiftly. "Guess you're just stuck with us."

"So I take it you all know each other pretty well," Tejina said.

"Oh yes, Tael and I are always up for aggravating young Fuz-" Tatl paused as Timbre glared meaningfully at her. "Er, Tim."

"How do you go about that?" Tejina asked.

"Well for one, he hates it when you poke him, like this!" Tatl demonstrated on the girl, poking her in the nose.

"Atchoo!"

Tatl whooped as she was sent flying.

Timbre looked up.

"Woo," Tejina pulled a wry face as she rubbed her nose. "Ticklish."

Link sprinted by, well into his twentieth lap around East Clock Town. Following like a wraith was the vengeful Ty, sporting a lumpy pink stain on his white streak of hair. Ty's voice was loud and accusatory. "That's it Fairy Boy, now my revenge will be doubly as horrible!"

"Only one day left, Monkey Boy!" Link yelled back at his rival.

"One day's a long time! Enjoy the time you have left! I'll teach you to hit me with ice cream! You'll be sorry!"

"It was worth it!" Link's voice faded away as they both ran out of view, Ty now screaming curses in Volcanian at the Hylian.


	6. Chapter 6

An Act to Follow - Part 6: Pyrotechnics tend to sometimes lead on realizations

Kafei yawned carelessly as his older brother lectured him.

"…and Mother says you are not to stay outside after it gets dark. It's okay to stay for the fireworks, but then you are all to come _straight home_. There's been some…well, just tell your friends to be careful tonight, okay? Kaf, are you listening to me?"

Kafei's older brother, who was married to the innkeeper Anju, also happened to be named Kafei. Apparently it had been an important name in the family. Big Kafei was very much like his father and younger brother, although he was less high strung and kept his violet hair longer and more unkempt then Mayor Dotour ever did.

Little Kafei was idly flipping his fox-faced Keaton Mask in the air, still not quite listening.

Big Kafei just sighed. Catching the mask on the next flip, he looked his younger brother in the eye. "I doubt you heard a word of what I just said."

The younger boy blinked. "You said, and I quote: ' "…and Mother says you are not to stay outside after it gets dark. It's okay to stay for the fireworks, but then you are all to come straight home. There's been some…well, just tell your friends to be careful tonight, okay? Kaf, are you listening to me?'" Little Kafei grinned impishly.

Big Kafei handed Kafei back his mask. "Great. And you'd better heed those words, otherwise Mother will probably ground you for a month."

"Aww, okay. I'll tell my friends that too." Kafei started walking back to the merchant's tent, in the shade of which Kat and Sond were playing cards.

"You go do that. And don't forget the fireworks tonight!"

"How could I, Mom's only talked about them for a mon-_ack_!" Link and Ty, still in the heat of an epic chase, chose that particular moment to collide with Kafei, resulting in twitching pile of arms and legs. Several passers-by chuckled, while a few ventured to ask if the boys were all right.

Kat looked up from her hand of cards at Sond. "Got any threes?"

"Go fish. Got any Kings?"

"Go fish."

Shouts erupted as Link and Ty erupted into a wrestling match while still entangled with Kafei. Yelps from all three parties were clearly audible, but either the girls were too absorbed in the game to notice, or they were just choosing to ignore it.

"I'll teach you!"

"Ow, my foot!"

"Mercy, mercy! I'm an innocent!"

"Owowowow!"

"I ought to-!"

Off to the side, Tejina watched the goings on with a furrowed brow. Looking at Timbre almost disdainfully, she asked, "Do your friends always do stuff like that?"

"Hmm?" Timbre jolted out of his pensive mood slightly.

"What he here means to say," Tatl interrupted, "is that they most certainly do."

"Oh." Tejina had kind of hoped for more then just filler noises from Timbre. She'd been trying to make conversation with him all afternoon, guilt-ridden about some of the things she'd said earlier in the day. Unfortunately, he'd remained frustratingly aloof.

By the time the girl's train of thought had run its course, the two combatants (plus the third caught in the crossfire) were spent, separating and dusting themselves off. Kafei was grumbling something about common courtesy, while Ty and Link were still glaring at each other. Their little rivalry wasn't over by a long shot.

Back at their card game, Kat slapped down four Jacks. "Hah! There! Beat that!"

Sond started at her cards. "Um, lessee…got…any…fours?"

"Botheration!" Kat handed off three matching cards, and Sond wordlessly pulled the fourth from her hand and put the group down.

"…got any twos?"

"And again!" Another group of four cards went down in Sond's favor. Kat sighed. She wasn't winning as much as the thought she was.

**-;O;-**

Across Clock Town, the large man that Timbre had inadvertently collided with leaned casually against the wall directly next to the Laundry Pool's entrance. He had been there most of the afternoon, a fur-lined hood pulled over his face, keeping it in shadow.

Even though it was the Midsummer Festival and therefore quite hot, he still wore his cape. In fact, chances were he wouldn't even discard it during the summer unless it became unbearably hot. The leather tunic and pants his cloak covered were a dusty tan color, and his large boots were black, also lined with fur. His rough hands were ungloved, the nails yellowed, tough, and short. Thrust rather conspicuously in his belt was a long hunting knife; anyone foolish enough to engage him would soon discover he had several other such blades hidden, two in his boots, and one under his right wrist.

His dark serious eyes glanced up briefly as they caught a glint of metal. Captain Viscen of the Clock Town Guard leaned against the wall next to him with a metallic groan. The cloaked man cackled suddenly.

"It's been a while, hasn't it? Anybody worth his salt could hear you miles before you showed up with that getup, Viscen."

The Captain stared forward, not looking into the man's face. "I'm not a _mercenary_ like you, Mr. Chatrail-"

"Just Veneer will do."

"Veneer, I am a soldier. I don't need to sneak around in my profession."

The man named Veneer chuckled lightly, his voice raspy. "Aye, and an honorable job it is, eh _Captain_?" This last word was said almost mockingly. He looked over the Captain's armored uniform with a vexing eye. "Heh, pretty glimmering armor. Course, it does you no good out in the real world. If you want to survive out there you need more than just a spear an' some pretty uniform. You need brains."

"I didn't summon you to mock my work, Veneer."

"Oh aye. Got a job for me then, I heard?"

"Yes." Captain Viscen still hadn't glanced at his comrade. He leaned on his spear slightly. "There's some…extermination I'd like you to take care of."

"Heh, since when did you get the impression I was an assassin? Heh, dangerous work, that. Besides, I thought you didn't _honor_ things like that."

"Oh no. Never." The Captain stared ahead intently. The crowd was pretty much nonexistent near them, and nobody paid them any heed otherwise. But, Viscen would rather be careful than risk someone overhearing. When he was sure his only ear was Veneer, he continued. "There was…an incident…last night. Nothing major, just a crate of bottles overturned. But that's not what I called you here for."

Veneer raised an eyebrow.

"Look," the Captain said. "Whatever did that was not human. There were…how do I put this…pawprints found, around the crate. I saw them myself. And this was no isolated case. I've had several accounts-"

"Huh." Veneer snorted. "Stray dogs. You've got yourself worried over dogs, Viscen."

"No." Viscen shook his head. "They're too large. These are Wolfos prints, Veneer. I'd stake an oath on it."

Veneer's eyes narrowed. "One of those beasts loose in town? I take it you've seen it, then?"

"Well, no…not personally…but…" The Captain swallowed. "A few people think they've seen it. Someone just this afternoon swore to me he'd seen something run along the roof just south of here."

Veneer stroked his chin again. "So you want me to take care of a rogue Wolfos, is that all?" Captain Viscen nodded mutely. "Because that's what I _do_, right? You'd rather not get your hands dirty, is that it?"

"Well, no, not exactly…" Captain Viscen chose his words carefully. "I just thought I'd get someone with experience."

Veneer nodded, smiling. "Oh aye, you keep telling yourself that, Viscen. You don't normally mind being the biting jaws of the law, do you? But the moment you're after a quarry that can bite _back_, you hire an _expert_." The smile became slightly humorless as the hunter suddenly became contemplative. "I've certainly killed Wolfos before, countless times, all types. For different people, farmers, settlers, paranoid soldiers, heh. Sometimes just for fun. But never have I found such work in a city."

"Yes." The Captain looked slightly nervous. "And being in a city, I pray that you might be, er, discreet about it? We are having a festival and all, and the Mayor-"

"Yes, yes, I'll make sure your Mayor's precious little to-do isn't disturbed. Wouldn't want to scare the tourists, would I?" Veneer smiled grimly from beneath his cloak. He appeared to be calculating for a moment, and then he declared, "Six hundred."

The Captain spluttered. "Six _hundred_ Rupees for _one_ Wolfos? But that's robbery!"

"You summoned a mercenary," Veneer grumbled. "And if there is a rogue Wolfos clever enough to evade you skulking about your town, you should be grateful I happened to be in the area to eliminate it before it'll hurt anybody. Or worse, kill. Six hundred, and be grateful I haven't charged more."

The Captain sighed. "Fine. Two hundred now, and you'll get the rest when that thing's head is in my hands."

"Three hundred now."

"You know," The Captain groaned, conceding, "If I didn't know any better I'd think you were one of the bad guys." He tossed a small sack to Veneer, who caught it easily in one hand.

"That's the difference between you and me," Veneer said, fishing out a large, blood-red Rupee from the sack. "We're both 'good guys,' but I'm the one who does the dirty work, and doesn't concern asking for his due. We're two sides of the same coin, you and I. You're the shiny figurehead, upholdin' the law in the name of honor, and I'm the tarnished bounty hunter, just trying to get by. Meet me here tonight, midnight. I'll show you how the other side works."

Without another word, Veneer pocketed his money, and slipped away.

**-;O;-**

For all the overcast day had threatened, the clouds had never really made good on their promises; gradually the sky started to clear. Night was falling rapidly, and soon some of the brightest stars started to become visible thorough the haze of clouds. In the distance, the Clock Tower turned the half hour.

Sitting on the upper veranda of the Stock Pot Inn, eight children reveled in their 'special' privileges.

"Hah, all the other people have to sit on the ground, we get the best view!" Kafei laughed aloud, getting a bunch of quizzical looks in response.

"Yeah, your brother convinced Anju to let us up here, that's all," Chiron said finally. "Besides, she's usually pretty okay about kids sitting up here as long as they don't mess it up."

"But we still got permission first, and therefore the best seats!" Kafei reassured them. "'Cause they're lighting the fireworks on the Clock Tower ledge, which means they go off right _above _the clock."

"…which we be starin' at righ' now." Nick finished for him. "Good thinkin' on yore part."

"One thing, though." Kat made an observation, as she split Sond's hair into three parts so she could braid it. "Since we're so close, it's gonna be _loud_."

"But at least it won't be raining," Sond said, then she winced suddenly. "_Ouch_! Kat!"

"Sorry," Kat said ruefully. "I'm trying to get the tangles as best I can, but honestly, your hair's just messy. I just pulled a _leaf _out of it."

"And since when are _you_ so concerned about making loud explosions, Kat?" Chiron asked, smirking.

Kat flushed slightly, focusing pointedly on Sond's hair. "I haven't blown _anything_ up recently," she remarked.

"What about last week when-"

"_Recently_."

"Chiron," Sond admonished between gritted teeth. "She's gonna pull my hair out by the roots if you keep at it…"

Ty and Link were sitting at opposite ends of the group, which was probably for the best. They still managed to throw glares whenever possible, although the waning sunlight was dampening their efforts. Picking idly at some loose thatch, Ty sighed.

"Is it really safe to light fireworks this close to the audience?" he said aloud.

Kafei shrugged. "Never been a problem in the past." Kafei blinked, suddenly looking thoughtful. "Then again… we do know how close you can get to fire without getting hurt-"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Kat started, causing Sond to wince again.

"Just kidding!" Kafei said disarmingly.

Kat finally just rolled her eyes heavenwards in good-natured surrender. "Well, practice makes perfect. And lots and lots of scorch marks."

Everybody laughed.

Nick, looking concerned, nudged Timbre, who hadn't laughed, or indeed, moved much at all since they'd arrived. "Oy, you haven' said anythin' all day practically. Was' up, _lobo_?"

Timbre seemed to be intently studying the worn gray toes of his soft boots. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I've just been thinking, is all."

"Good grief, I think my brother's starting to wear off on you, Tim!" Ty smirked. "What's there so much to think about?"

"Eh, nothing much…" Timbre said vaguely. "Nothing important, anyway."

"Yeah." Kat didn't like to see her friend moping so much, so she tried to get him to talk. Even hearing him complain would be better then nothing. "So, what'd you think of Tejina, Tim? Must be refreshing to meet someone your height." Kat braced herself for the retort.

But Timbre just shrugged. "Eh," he said finally. "I didn't really talk to her that much. Didn't really want to. So I dunno." Chin in hands, he stared stubbornly forwards.

"I think someone's holding a grudge. Personally she seems like a very nice person, once you get to know her." Kat looked intently at Timbre as she disentangled a stray twig from Sond's half-finished braid. "Just like some people I know."

"But she was kind of weird," Link remarked. "I asked her if she'd lost her other glove, since she only had the one, and she looked at me as if I'd sprouted wings." He rubbed his chin. "So I asked her why she didn't just not wear the glove at all, and she said, 'I never take it off.'"

Timbre, meanwhile, had relapsed back into contemplative silence.

Kat and Sond exchanged concerned glances, and Kat finally shrugged as if to say, 'I tried!' Everyone vaguely stared upwards. It was a lot darker then it had been five minutes ago.

"Not too long now," Kafei said, breaking the silence.

"Er, mind if I join you?" A voice said, behind them.

Eight surprised people looked over their shoulders at Tejina, who flinched, then smiled shyly.

"Hi."

"Didn't you and your brother and Ana have another show tonight?" Link asked curiously.

"It ended an hour ago. I came back to the Inn because I figured it would be a good place to watch the fireworks, and Anju said you were up here."

"Well, you're actually a paying customer, so I guess we can't say no," Ty remarked. "You're good at popping out of nowhere, you know that? None of us even noticed you show up." He was careful to note he didn't know how _long_ she'd been there.

"It's just a knack. 'Slight of self,' you might say. Comes in handy sometimes, being able to go unnoticed." Without another word, the short girl plopped herself down between Nick and Timbre. "I've never seen fireworks from this close before."

Timbre scooted several inches away from the newcomer, and Kat and Sond stifled giggles. Kat was biting her tongue when she noticed a commotion beneath them. "Hey check it out, the Guards are chasing something."

Tejina peered. "Some_one_, you mean." She scowled. "And whoever it is, they're giving those Guards a run for their money."

"Or someone else's," Sond quipped. "I think I recognize that guy. That's Sakon the thief. He's a crook, he must've been pickpocketing the crowd, but finally got spotted."

"Ugh, that guy," Kafei grumbled. "I don't know why they don't just banish him from town."

"Probably hard to keep him away with all these crowds. Good grief, he's _prancing_ away from them," Ty said, tail twitching. "Guess that armor makes it hard for the Guards to run."

A thin man with a fat sack thrown over his shoulder pranced madly out in front of the guards, making obscene hand gestures at his pursuers and generally causing havoc down below. But it wasn't to last for long. Sakon suddenly tripped over something and sprawled out flat on his face. The sack of goods spilled, and several stolen trinkets rolled on the ground. Many onlookers gave a throaty cheer as the Guards dragged the formerly prancing man away.

Tejina sighed. "Well, that ends that little escapade, anyways."

As if that were a cue, the first firework went off and lit the sky in a flash of maroon. Immediately following was the _crack_ of exploding bombpowder. Kat flinched from the loud noise, but was immediately soothed by the chorus of "oohs" and "aahs" that drifted from the square below, a similar sentiment echoed by the children on the veranda.

"So pretty!" Sond said, with nods of agreement.

Two went off at once with a thunderous golden explosion that illuminated the sky. Talking drew to a minimum as the show progressed. Fireworks aren't a time for speaking as much as a time for watching. Everybody made good on this unwritten rule, and leaned back, enjoying the show.

**-;O;-**

After about a half-hour, the last firework burst and faded. The crowd below hooted and hollered its appreciation as the last sparking motes of green drifted earthwards, then extinguished. The stars slowly began to reappear through the haze of smoke. Kat wrinkled her nose. "It smells like a bomb went off."

"Well, it kind of did, fireworks are just bombs that look pretty, after all." Chiron said.

"Well, that is that, I suppose," Kafei yawned and stretched. "No more, at least until next time. But Mom'll probably book fireworks for midnight at next year's Carnival of Time. Again."

"Remember watching those last ones…over and over again? Hopefully certain celestial objects will stay up in the sky where they belong next time." Chiron grinned.

"What time is it?" Link interrupted loudly.

"Time to go home," Kafei said grumpily. "Mom says we have to go straight home after the fireworks. Probably because of that 'incident' from last night." Here he waggled his fingers.

Ty blinked, and Link smirked a little. The green-hatted boy swung a sly look at Timbre, who had relapsed into his quiet sulk. Timbre just rolled his eyes. "Did this 'incident' happen to involve a crate of bott-_oof_!"

Sond elbowed Link in the ribs. "Ixnay," she mumbled in his ear, as Link remembered that Tejina was still with them. Sond stood up. "Time to go home. Otherwise Kafei's dear mother will be _mad_, and I for one don't need that kind of aggravation!" She started towards the veranda door.

"Aww man, it's not even that late though, and we're being subject to this stupid curfew," Chiron grumbled as he stood, rapping his knuckles idly on the large bell hung beside them as he passed.

"Not like w're missin' any'ing, though…" Nick followed Chiron's example. "'Tainment's over f' th' nigh', shops closin', so ev'ryone's clearin' out, aye?" Sure enough, he was right. The square was now almost completely empty.

Last in line for the door was Kat and Timbre. Timbre stood resolutely. He felt completely awake, and although a little cross about having to turn in so early, he wasn't arguing. Turning his head, he looked at Tejina. Kat waved to her.

"G'night," she said.

The girl blinked. "Is it okay if Tim stays a minute or two?"

Timbre looked at Kat sourly, and she just nodded firmly. "Go ahead." When Timbre didn't reply, Kat rolled her eyes. "Look, if you stay out here you don't have to go inside yet, understand?"

Kat's eyes were slightly admonishing, as they flickered over to Tejina for a moment. Finally, Timbre agreed. "Yeah. Fine."

"Just get back to the Mayor's house soon, okay?" Then Kat left with a bit of a smile on her face. Timbre's expression had been priceless just then.

Timbre sat back down without a word. He stared forwards as if nobody else was there. Nothing was said for almost five minutes.

"You were sitting behind us for a while," he finally said, flatly. "How long?"

"Long enough, I suppose." The girl also stared forwards, fidgeting. Finally she sighed. "May I say something?"

He shrugged. "Go ahead."

"This is kind of hard for me, but I wanted to apologize about today. I mean for real. We kind of got off on the wrong foot. I said and did some awful things to you today, and for that I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know that."

Startled, Timbre actually turned and met her gaze. Unlike the stiff apology earlier, this had sounded sincere. Even her eyes were serious. His eyebrows slowly unfurrowed. "S'okay, I guess…"

"I dunno if Kei said so or not, but I'm slow to warm up."

"He said as much." The boy relapsed into tacit stargazing.

"You don't like to talk much, do you?" The girl observed.

"No, it's just…if there's no reason to say anything, why talk? I'd rather just think."

"'Bout what?"

"Uh, stuff," he said shortly.

"Oh." Another awkward period of silence occurred.

"Well," Timbre suddenly said, almost startling Tejina. "It wasn't exactly nice to just give you the cold shoulder, and I know you've been trying to talk to me all day. Ask any of my friends, they'll tell you how much of a grump I can be. It's not your fault."

Tejina smiled a little, relieved.

"Though why _did_ you want to dance so badly?"

The girl fidgeted uncomfortably. "Promise you won't make fun of me?"

Timbre stared blankly forwards. "I'll attempt to curb my rapier wit."

"It's because I find you very interesting."

The boy's brow furrowed slightly. "Okay?"

"I just…I was trying to get your attention, I guess."

"So you decided to steal from me?"

"I…I didn't know what else to do," she admitted helplessly. "Look, I just wanted to get to know you better."

Timbre scoffed distantly. "There's a _lot_ about me that you don't know, shouldn't know, and frankly, don't want to know."

"Like what?"

"You tell me."

"Okay," Tejina said, looking thoughtful, staring first upwards, then back down at the thatch. "Well, for one thing, I know you're not a local, though you know this place very well. And…um, you're not fond of dancing."

"I wonder how you figured _that_ one out," Timbre grumped. But this time his tone was begrudgingly less harsh, and the girl realized he wasn't quite as cross about the dancing incident anymore.

"Yes, but when something bothers you, you tend to keep it inside, until someone prods it out of you. You'd rather solve problems yourself then ask for help from others. And sometimes you're a bit inflexible and don't listen to advice given to you."

Timbre shrugged.

Tejina continued. "And you're also very insecure about something, that's why you're wearing that coat, to make yourself look bigger." She trailed off there.

Timbre smirked. "Is that all?" He asked, sounding critical, and maybe just a bit disappointed.

Tejina shuffled. "No, actually there's something else. I know what you are."

Timbre kept his expression neutral, but his stomach churned icily as the girl continued.

"I had a hunch, but I knew for sure as soon as you got the drop on me in front of this Inn. There's no other way you could have beaten me there through that crowd."

Timbre stared at the ground. "I resent that."

"You're not what you seem." Tejina pressed.

"How do you know that?"

"Because I just told you."

"And why would you care?"

"Because I understand."

"You don't." He turned his head away.

"_I resent that_," Tejina said, mimicking him.

"You're starting to aggravate me," he accused.

"Well, you're aggravating _me_, seems only fair, doesn't it?"

Timbre had to bite his tongue before he started growling. "Look, I think I'd better go," he said, sounding forced.

"Tim, if you don't tell me, I'm going to tell _you_."

"Then I have nothing to say. We're all allowed to keep things to ourselves."

"You don't need to keep this to yourself, _don't you get it_?" Her tone almost sounded desperate.

"I'm leaving."

"I'm talking."

"Go ahead, I'm already gone anyway." He was standing up.

"_You are a wolf_."

He foundered in mid-stand. Swallowing, Timbre stared at Tejina. Her tone had been neither angry nor accusing, just plainly spoken. At that moment, he finally understood. Closing his eyes, he nodded. "Yes, I am." He then looked directly back at the girl. "And so are you."


	7. Chapter 7

An Act to Follow - Part 7: Let's hear it for bright viridian eye reflections

"But _Mom_, it's gonna get stuffy in here!"

Madame Aroma would hear nothing of it. "You leave that window closed, d'you hear me? Goodness knows what could come in if you leave it wide open. Keep it closed tonight, dear."

Kafei sighed and cracked his neck, frustrated. His room had one south-facing window, but due to his mother's wishes, the window would only remain open a crack for the time being. With more than half a dozen occupants, it was bound to get rather warm, and quickly.

"If this is about that thing with the Wol-"

"Hush dear. Don't listen to silly rumors. Just do as I ask, please."

"Sorry about this, you guys," Kafei said to everyone later up in his room, over their latest card game. They had been forced to re-name the card game 'Liar' after Madame Aroma declared that cursing, even during a card game, was not permitted.

"S'okay, Kaf. Not your fault. Three fours." Ty put down three cards facedown.

"Liar." Link muttered.

"Take 'em then, Fairy Boy." Ty looked rather pleased with himself as the Hylian looked flustered.

"You know…two fives…Doesn't anyone else think the Mayor's getting rather uppity about such a small thing, the whole 'crate and bottle' business…?" Chiron blinked, looking around.

Nick appeared cross-eyed as he stared at his hand. "Was won'rin that mesel', I mean…s'not like anyone was hurt las' ni'. Y'don't think?…one six…Y'don't think-"

"He knows what _really_ happened?" Sond finished. "I hope not. But if he did, he wouldn't act like he doesn't, would he? Four sevens."

"But there's those rumors we heard on the way here," Kat added in a low tone. "They think there's a Wolfos sneaking around town. That's a little too close to the truth for comfort. If I'd known that I wouldn't have told Tim to stay at the Inn for a while longer."

"Feh," Link said, picking cards out of his hand. "But if anyone but us _knew_ who it was, Captain Viscen would already have a new furry wall hanging." He was subject to several glares. "What?!"

"Just play," Kat said, feeling unpleasant.

"Oh come on, Tim's a lot smarter than some dumb hairy monster. He's knows better than to do anything stupi-"

"Link."

"What?"

"It's your turn!"

"Oh. Four eights."

"Liar!"

"Take 'em, Monkey Boy. Take 'em all."

"Rrrgh…" Ty said, pulling the entire pile towards him, his tail bristling. Flipping through them, he scowled. "Hey, everyone else was lying!"

His indignation was met by many guffaws and innocent looks.

Suddenly, there was a tapping at the nearly-closed window, and everybody instantly sobered. "Did you hear that?" Kat asked. "Maybe it's Tim."

"Let's see…" Kafei crept up to the window. Peering out, he shook his head. "No, it's just Tatl and Tael."

"What do they want?" Link snorted.

"Dunno, but maybe they've got some news for us." Kafei opened the window ever so slightly wider, enough to allow the two fairies in. "There." The two glowing balls of light hovered around the group a moment, then Tatl landed on Link's head.

"Do you mind?" Link looked annoyed.

"Not at all," Tatl smirked. "Ooh, nice hand. You should play that Ace of Hylians next."

"Hey, for one thing, you're giving my cards away, and for another, we're not even playing that game!" Link scowled, putting his cards facedown. "What do you want, anyway?"

"Not much going on around town at the moment. The place is mostly deserted, and you're more interesting than a bunch of Guards and street sweepers wandering around."

Tael decided to perch on the upper bunk and watch the card game. After a moment of silent counting, he noticed something unusual. "You're one person short."

"Ooh, observant, isn't he?" Chiron muttered.

"Yeah, we're short one short person," Link punned. Then he blinked. "So where do you think Timbe's got to?"

"I just said, he stayed back at the Inn. Tee wanted to talk to him." Kat shuffled the deck. "Who's up for another round?" She said quickly.

"He's with that _girl_?" Link choked with laughter. "That should be interesting." Several other masculine snickers meant the boys agreed with him.

"Good grief, the poor girl's been trying to apologize to him all day that's all." Kat rolled her eyes, shifting her weight off of her elbows. If she leaned on them for too long they started to get sore.

"Well, she's been apologizing to him for currently two hours now, then." Kafei looked at his watch. It was a small wind-up contraption that featured the same face as the Clock Tower's mural.

Kat looked up. "It's been that long? Time flies…" She tapped a foot in amazement.

"I suppose someone'd better go find him and hurry him back…" Ty remarked. "Problem is, we're not allowed out…"

"And he wouldn't be allowed in, or he'd get in big trouble." Chiron finished.

Kafei shuffled. "Or at least _I_ would be. Mom's a bit cranky because of the festival, she's won't be easy on anybody, especially me."

Nick muttered to himself incoherently, garnering several stares. After a moment, he spoke up. "S'pose…s'pose we had just one of us go?" He thumbed over his shoulder at the window. "Out th' window onto the roof, y'see, sa' way they got in. Tell 'im to get back 'ere through th' window or jus' t' lie low f' th' night. Or sumthin'…"

Everyone let Nick's highly accented speech sink in a moment. "I guess that might work…" Ty said finally. Sond nodded as if making a decision.

"I'll go fetch him back," she said, walking over to the window and opening it with a quick upward movement. "And before any of you argue," she glared at the multitude of open mouths as she quickly strung her bow and retrieved her quiver of arrows, "Might I remind you _I_ am the one with a bow _and_ a heavy ceramic mug here." She glared menacingly about, just daring anybody to speak up.

All the mouths stayed shut. "No arguments? Thought so," Sond said, backing out of the window one foot at a time. She kept talking quietly as she disappeared from view. "I think I can get onto the roof from here…_yes_!" Sond's head reappeared in the window, upside down this time. "I'm gonna go take a peek around, be right back." Her head hastily zipped out of view.

Ty craned his neck as he leaned out of the window. "I can't see anything, it's too dark." he said finally. Seconds later, a purple flash blinded him.

"Is this better?" Tael asked, totally oblivious to the fact he was inches from Ty's nose.

"Ack! Shoo!" Ty waved his hand and accidentally backhanded the hapless fairy. Tael gave a whoop as he tumbled out of the window and dropped out of sight.

"_KAFEI_!"

Madame Aroma's yell from downstairs caused everyone to start. In Ty's case, he clouted his skull on the window while hastily pulling himself back inside. "Oww…" Link snickered, but was quickly quieted when Kat threw a pillow in his face.

"Shh, listen!"

Heavy footfalls meant somebody was coming up the stairs. And by the nature of them, it sounded like somebody large.

"Ack, it's my Mom!" Kafei hissed urgently, his eyes wide. "Quick, pretend you're asleep!"

A massive panicky melee ensued. Everybody flung themselves into their beds and sleeping bags, and Kafei fumbled to extinguish the lamp. Chiron had the good thought to close the window. It shut with a rattling _bang_. Seconds later he threw himself under the covers as Madame Aroma's bulky silhouette (complete with nightcap) appeared in the doorway, lit by the small candle she held.

"Something's making noise up here," she began in a no-nonsense voice.

Several exaggerated snores answered her, and she huffed slightly. Waggling a finger, she nodded fiercely. "Good idea, all of you. You keep those eyes closed, I don't want to hear any more noise tonight. And keep that window _shut_, I can tell when it's open. If you don't believe me, just try your luck at being grounded for a week!" She turned to leave, stifling a mammoth yawn. "Kids these days," she grumbled, heading back downstairs.

Everything was quiet for several minutes. Then the sound of someone sitting up drifted from the left-hand corner of the room.

"Well, _that_ went smoothly," a sarcastic male voice muttered.

"You didn't exactly _help_, Fairy Boy," Ty muttered, rubbing his head. It felt bruised and tender. "So now what? We can't exactly let Sond back in, now _she's_ stuck out there too."

"And Tael too," Chiron added.

Tatl jingled moodily from underneath Link's hat. "My brother's out there? How'd that happen?"

Ty swallowed. "Uh, I kind of swatted him out the window." Ty yelped as a yellow orb suddenly hovered in front of his nose. "It was an accident!" He hissed angrily.

Tatl harrumphed and retreated back under Link's hat.

"''Ow we gonna 'xplain this un in th' morning?" Nick whispered.

"Yeah," Chiron added. "I think anybody'd notice we'd suddenly lost two people walking downstairs."

"Easy. We'll just 'sleep in.'" Kafei's voice whispered. "Both my Dad and Mom have to be up early tomorrow. We'll just wait until they've gone to leave, that way they'll never know we've got two missing."

"Sounds like a plan," Kat said from the top bunk. She yawned. "I was feeling kind of tired anyways. Goodnight."

"Yeah," Chiron agreed.

"Sleep tight."

"Nighty-night."

"G'nigh'…"

"Don't let the bed bugs bite!"

"Hey Link?" Kat said sleepily.

"Yeah?"

"_Shush_!" Six voices hissed.

"Oh, right-o. Goodnight!"

Link was knocked flat by six pillows.

**-;O;-**

Tejina snorted faintly, the scent of faint exhilaration and new green rosemary curling about her like a mantle.

Timbre glanced sidelong at the wolf pup sitting next to him on the thatched roof of the Stock Pot Inn. "What's so funny?!" He asked her.

"You are," Tejina said (or rather, growled) with a hint of amusement, "you are black and white, just like a magpie's feathers."

Timbre gave an exasperated grunt as he scratched at one ear with a hind leg. A few loose hairs floated away on the breeze. "I can't help it_,_" he growled.

This time Tejina really did grin, her jaws opened in silent amusement. Her fur color was the same grayish-blue as it had been as a human, with a lighter underbelly and darker gray patches over both blue eyes. Her left forepaw was black, looking all the world like she's accidentally stepped in tar.

Timbre's fur, on the other hand, did indeed look like a magpie, the black traveling down his back and the white along his face, muzzle and underside. His paws were black with white toes, so he still appeared to be wearing fingerless gloves. A final black mark – a birthmark – played like a slash across his left eye.

Timbre gave up on his grooming, and lay down with a lofty sigh, the scent of bombpowder still thick in the air around them. They could smell the color of each individual burst firework, making the air heavy with the sharp iron fragrance of violet and gold, the dusty coppery tang of cerulean and green, and the cloying calcium weight of orange.

Tejina was perplexed. She'd thought this revelation would change everything with them, but Timbre still persisted with his moody and pensive demeanor. "Something is still on your mind."

Timbre's ears twitched at her slightly stilted words. She had the wolf equivalent of a slight accent, as her syntax was overly formal and occasionally clumsy, as if she were unused to speaking in this form. He quickly changed the subject. "How'd you figure me out?" His white-tipped tail thumped the roof thatch, which released a dry odor of summer heat to join the bombpowder.

"I think I smelled you last night in that alleyway after the show. You almost got the drop on me, until I got spooked and you knocked over that crate. That _was_ you, right?"

"…yeah."

"Clumsy. I thought you knew this town."

"I do," he growled. "I just made a mistake."

"You were trying to spy on me and Kei and Ana, weren't you?"

"Anyway! So that _was_ you that Kas saw."

"Kas?"

"Remember this afternoon? He's Ty's older brother."

"Oh, that weird man!"

"He's not weird!" The white tipped tail thumped the thatch again as he looked at her. "He just actually _thinks_ before he starts talking."

Tejina stared at him, one ear standing straight up, the other down.

Her companion stared forwards again, wishing she'd look away from him. Wolves weren't supposed to stare at each other like that. "Well, don't worry, _he'll_ keep his mouth shut. He knows about me, and now he most certainly knows about _you_ too."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

"You are thinking I would tell someone what you are." Both of Tejina's ears went back.

"Well…uh…"

"Why would I ever do that?!" She sounded incredulous. "If I did, they would certainly have a few questions for _me_ as well."

Timbre just growled gently. "Whatever."

"So…do your friends know about you?"

"Them? Oh yeah, they sure do."

"And they're okay with it?" Tejina sounded almost jealous at the idea.

"They're pretty okay with it. We've run into enough strange stuff by now that nothing really bothers us anymore. I mean, Link is an amazing swordsman and carries holy relics around in his pockets, and Sond is a dead shot with magic arrows – or just regular ones, for that matter. Chiron studies magic theory for _fun_. Kat _casts_ magic; once she melted a forty foot long mechanical goat out of a block of solid _ice_. Kafei's the Mayor's son, sure, but I once saw him argue with a centuries-dead skeleton king, and _win the argument_. Nick and Ty can stick their hands in fire and laugh about how much it tickles. And Kas - I won't even get started on him - he's a whole enigma unto himself. Next to them, I'm _boring_."

_He almost smiled just then_, Tejina thought wistfully.

But as her companion lapsed back into silence, Tejina felt a minor wave of frustration. She tried changing the subject. "It was no- er, _wasn't_ just that accident that tipped me off, you should know. Your eyes gave you away. Haven't you noticed this before?"

Timbre had heard people comment on his bright green eyes before, but it had never actually led anyone to conclude his true nature. "In what way?"

Tejina fidgeted and her ears twitched. "Well, mine do this too, you see. Last night on this roof, you were walking below and you looked up at me. For just a moment, your eyes _reflected_ the light- like two bright viridian stars."

"Oh." Timbre stared forwards.

"You are _still_ in a mood."

"It's nothing."

"And I thought you would be excited, happy to meet another of your kind. You do not see other wolves very often, do you?"

"_No_."

"So what is bothering you so much?"

"_Nothing_."

"Is this the kind of nothing where there is something wrong but you just don't want to admit it?"

"I feel guilty, alright?" Timbre suddenly snapped, his hackles raised. "About knocking that dumb crate over. I don't _like_ to do things like that. But I did, and now it's a mess, some honey merchant down there somewhere's losing business, and now on top of it, I've got the whole town scared over _nothing_ because they think there's a monster running loose. That's what's been bothering me, okay?"

Tejina stared, nonplussed at her bristling companion. "So, go confess."

"Yeah right! The Captain of the Clock Town Guard was there, and he didn't find boot tracks, he found pawprints. _My_ pawprints. I don't want there to be any connection between me and well…_me_. There's a big difference between some friends knowing that and the whole town. I'd probably get skinned alive or something."

"Then do not worry about it. If they don't find you then all the fear will fade."

"Except I _do_ worry. I can't help being what I am, but does that mean I'll have to act like some criminal for the rest of my life to fit in, hiding around in shadows and alleyways? Everywhere I go it'll be the same thing otherwise. I did something dumb, and now it's become everyone's problem!" The black and white wolf paced back and forth, kicking up in his wake the scent of old wheat and ashes.

Tejina watched him pensively. "So then, what are you going to do? Repay them somehow?"

Timbre stopped pacing suddenly and shook himself. He ambled over to his coat, which had been cast aside neatly. Blinking, he stuck his muzzle in one of the pockets, which smelled of stale bread, his own sweat, and sand.

Tejina laughed silently, as her companion cut a comical figure at the moment, though he was largely unaware of it. She sobered as he withdrew from the coat, with several bright objects clenched in his teeth. Letting them drop gently onto the thatch, he nodded at them. "See?"

"Two blue Rupees. But that's-"

"Actually they're purple ones. I think. Worth one hundred all together. I dug them out of a sinkhole outside town last week and pocketed them. I'd forgot I had them until just now. Maybe I could leave them to be found around where the crate was, like you said, compensation for the stuff I broke."

"That sounds reasonable. But you should leave a note too."

"What? Why?"

"So they'll know it's for compensation, otherwise someone might think they were just dropped there by mistake. Have you got any paper and something to write with in one of those pockets?"

"Rmm…" Timbre retreated into another pocket, this one smelling sharply of ink and old wood. "Yeah, I do…it's one of Tingle's fountain pens. He dropped it with some paper once when Link shot his balloon down."

"Tingle? Balloon?" Tejina looked confused.

"Uh, I'll explain later. How good are you at writing?"

"Nah-uh, you write this yourself. You did the deed, after all."

"…but I'm not very good at writing Hylian. My spelling-"

Tejina yawned widely. "It does not need to be a peace treaty, you know."

"I s'pose..." Timbre shifted back to human form so he could pick up the pen. One thing wolves lacked was an opposable thumb, which meant they had a hard time with things like writing and doorknobs. He sat cross-legged in front of the paper. Chewing on the end of the pen, he looked skyward. "Let's see if I can spell it…ugh, this pen's going dry!" He shook the pen a few times and was rewarded with a few drops of ink. "There." His tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on the words. Two minutes and a lot of pen shaking later, he sat back. "Howzat?"

Scrawled in shaky Hylian were the words: 'PAYMANT FOR THE KRAYT AND HUNNEY JARS' in all capitals. Since the pen had been acting up, there were several inky blotches as well. Tejina squinted, then looked at Timbre, her nose wrinkled in amusement.

Timbre glowered. "Hey, I _told_ you my spelling's bad. And it isn't so bad considering I haven't had much practice. I'm still learning written Hylian, anyway. Now to tie it up."

He dug in another coat pocket and found another strip of leather from Sond's arrows. Laying the two Rupees flat on the parchment, he carefully rolled them up, tucking the ends in so they wouldn't drop out. He then tied the bundle neatly with the string.

Changing forms again, he carefully picked up the little bundle in his teeth and grunted. Loosely translated, he meant, 'See you later.'

Tejina blinked. "I'm going with you."

Timbre dropped the load for a moment so he could glare properly. "Who said you could? This is _my_ business, not yours."

Tejina's tail waved aggressively, her ears forward. "It is a free city. I'm going with you."

"It'll be dangerous enough trying to deliver this apology. I could get caught."

"Then you will need someone along to rescue you," she replied, matter of factly.

"_You_ could be in danger."

"I didn't know you cared." Her nose wrinkled again in a half-smile.

After a moment's contemplation and a bout of staring at his forepaws, he looked at her. Or rather, glowered.

"You are _so_ annoying, you know that?" he accused finally, carefully lifting the bundle in his teeth and trotting back a ways for the jump to the Milk Bar's roof. With all the practice he'd had that afternoon, he was feeling rather confident with roof jumping. With an easy bound, he made it across to the soft cream-scented thatched roof.

A second later, Tejina crashed into him when _she_ jumped, almost sending both him and his bundle toppling off of the roof. He glared again and snarled around the bundle.

"Well, you should have moved out of the way," she growled back. Timbre just rolled his eyes and harrumphed. If she wanted to tag along just to spite him, fine. But if she got into any trouble because of that, it would be her own fault, and her own business to get _out_.

**-;O;-**

Sond peered around from her perch on top of the Mayor's roof. After hearing the commotion downstairs, she'd wisely decided against tapping on the window to be let back in. If need be, she could stand watch for a while outside. It wasn't unpleasant outside, for a warm summer's night.

It was very clear and starry now that the clouds were gone, but very dark. The moon was at half phase, and there were only a few streetlamps offering soft illumination on the myriad of tents below. The town appeared deserted. The rumor had obviously spread. Not many wanted to tangle with a monster, it would seem.

_Boy, if they only knew their 'monster' is ten years old, snores in his sleep, and thinks bacon is a gift from the Goddesses themselves! _ Sond stifled a smirk at the thought. Taking a deep breath, she turned her head towards the Stock Pot Inn's roof. Because of the dark, she couldn't tell if there was actually anybody on the veranda, not unless they stood up. She would have yelled over, save that so much noise would have alerted the Guard.

Then she would be in trouble with not only the Guard, but also with the Mayor and his wife. Sond shuddered at the thought.

Suddenly, a small dark silhouette, barely distinguishable from the night sky, leapt from the roof of the Stock Pot Inn, landing on top of the Milk Bar's roof. Sond blinked twice, as seconds later, a second shape mirrored that move and collided with the first. There was a brief scuffling and a couple of faint growls. Furrowing a brow, Sond fumbled for her quiver. Her fingers closed on an arrow.

Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the words to activate a spell. _Silver arrow, fill up with light, turn back the night._ There was a brief flare as the newly charged Light Arrow shone brightly, chasing away shadows. Crossing her eyes, Sond concentrated on focusing the light.

It was a trick she'd learned while adventuring few months previously; she and her friends had been trying to find their way down some particularly dark corridors. Instead of ambient light, she learned she could focus a concentrated beam in whatever direction she chose, illuminating distant objects.

Sond squinted, aiming the arrow's light directly at whatever was on the Milk Bar. They - there seemed to be two things - shrank back in surprise, a couple of shadows halting just out of the range of the light.

At first she was greeted by what appeared to be four glowing sparks hovering slightly above the roof. Then she realized something odd about the sparks. For one thing, they moved in groups of two, as if they were attached to each other. Several times, a pair would wink out of existence for an instant, then reappear. Then it hit her.

_Eyes! Those are the reflections off of eyes!_ That meant there _were_ two things on that roof. Sond frowned a little bit, remembering eyes down dark corridors that were not always friendly. She slowly reached behind her and unslung her bow from her back. Nocking the arrow, she drew it back and aimed at the Milk Bar's roof.

Hesitantly, one of the things stepped forward into the beam of light. Sond squinted in recognition, letting the bow slacken slightly. There was no way that thing was a stray cat, for one thing it was too big. For another thing, it had winked at her.

_Tim._

Sond unnocked the arrow and waved, grinning.

The wolf answered with a friendly wag of his tail. Suddenly a quiet scraping, metal upon metal reached their ears. Peering downwards, Sond watched as a Guard on his patrol goose-stepped between the Milk Bar and the Stock Pot Inn, headed towards the tents.

Not wanting to make any more noise to alert the Guard, she beckoned with her unarmed hand. _Come on over already, where in Hyrule have you been, you dope?_

But the wolf deliberately shook his head from side to side. _No._ Sond then noticed there was something in his mouth. She beckoned again, confused, and he shook his head again. _No._

_What is he up to?_ She wondered, feeling a bit annoyed.

Timbre threw himself into a bizarre and exaggerated pantomime, which might of baffled any casual observer. He went through the act several times, looking at her as he pointed towards West Clock Town with a forepaw.

He needed to go somewhere? _Why?_ Sond furrowed her brow. After a moment, she replied with her own pantomime. She pointed at the huge distant shadow that was the big clock. She tapped her wrist with one finger, then pointed at him. She then pointed to the roof where she sat. _One hour, then you're to come straight here, you got that?_

Timbre nodded agreement. A moment later, he was gone. With a sigh, Sond let the Light Arrow extinguish. Just lucky for them that Guard hadn't had the thought to look up tonight!

The clock, turned the half-hour in the distance. _That makes the time eleven-thirty, then._ Leaning back, Sond allowed her mind to wander. She'd have to last another hour without falling asleep, lucky for her she'd brought along an extra pack of cards. With a sigh, she suddenly wondered what that _other_ shadow had been. She hadn't had time to ask. Maybe it had just been her imagination. Then again, how could she have _imagined_ another pair of eyes?

**-;O;-**

"That was well done." Tejina remarked. Timbre just growled. "No, I am being serious! You know how hard it is to communicate with humans when you cannot speak their language? I can't get Kei to understand me half the time!" she continued, while Timbre feverishly wished she would just go away and leave him alone. Why was she so insistent on following him like a shadow?

He was retracing the route he had taken around the city's southern roofs earlier that day, which meant, unfortunately, _she _was as well. Still, he tried his best to keep his nose forward. Maybe if he ignored her, she would get bored and go away.

No such luck, as he would find. Rounding the corner, the dimly-lit South Clock Town square resembled a ghost town, completely deserted. _Wow,_ Timbre thought in amazement. _People really must be scared._ Still, just because there was no one around in sight didn't mean that there _wasn't_ anybody around. Any of the tents around were bound to be occupied.

He glanced sidelong at Tejina. She yawned.

"Paranoia runs deep for these people, doesn't it?"

Timbre put the bundle down for a moment. If he held it all the time he was bound to start drooling and then the ink would run. "Well, Wolfos are generally a respectable thing to be scared of. _I'd_ be afraid."

"How are we going to get to West Clock Town from here?"

"You mean, how am _I_. I'm going to have to get down off these roofs to do that. West Clock Town's a narrow avenue, but the buildings are tall, you see. Maybe if I get down by the Laundry Pool, and just hug the wall…that would probably work…" Timbre galloped off suddenly, the Rupees and parchment back in his mouth. Maybe he'd be able to lose her if he hurried…

Jumping down the thatching into the Laundry Pool area was a delicate exercise, and Timbre shook himself off as his nose was suddenly filled with the smell of damp moments before his paws hit cold muddy ground. He was just contemplating the next leg of his route when a furry object hit him from above, squashing him snout first into the wet ground.

"Whoops." Tejina said. "You really need to learn to move out of the way."

Timbre disentangled himself with a wet squelch. "You did that on purpose!" Timbre accused, shoving her roughly aside. She pushed back. For a moment, the two faced off, eyes locked challengingly. Then Timbre seemed to come back to himself, shook the heavier clods of dirt out of his coat, and stalked away, still snorting out bits of mud. He shifted his grip on the bundle (he'd bit down on it rather hard when she'd hit him) and sped down the inclined alley, Tejina following easily in his wake.

Exiting into South Clock Town's main square, Timbre kept his left side close to the wall, as if willing himself to meld with it. He grunted in annoyance.

There was a Guard standing at the entrance to West Clock Town. Timbre peered around the corner leading towards the district. Dropping the bundle again, he exhaled. "All this way for nothing."

"He is bound to move sometime…" Tejina sat down next to him.

The minutes ticked by, and the Guard continued to stand at attention. He yawned once, but never once moved from his post.

"Great, it's like they expected us or something," Timbre growled.

The gray wolf yawned, stretching herself out on the ground.

Timbre tried once again to rid himself of his annoying companion. "Hey, aren't Kei and Ana going to be worried about you? Maybe you should go back."

"No, they are used to me being out, actually. They would be worried if I actually came home on time, they'd think there was something wrong with me. For humans, they really do understand." She rolled onto her back, all four paws waving in the air.

"Huh." He was about to ask her something else when Tejina's ears suddenly flicked forwards.

"Hey, do you hear that?"

Timbre copied her. "Yeah, I do…it's-"

"Bells?" The two looked at each other, confused. The jingling was very faint, so much so that the Guard wasn't alarmed. It was coming from their right. From behind a tent, a small dim light weaved dazedly along the street. The light was flickering, like a dying ember, and it occasionally bumped into walls.

"Tael!" Timbre whined, alarmed.

Tael seemed to realize where they were, and he changed course, zigzagging his way over to the Laundry Pool entrance. He looked relieved as he dropped to the cobblestones in front of them, his light fizzling out completely.

Tejina rolled upright and batted curiously at the fairy with a forepaw like she might a dead bug, but he didn't respond. Timbre roughly shouldered her away. "Don't do that!"

"Is he…" Tejina started. She'd never seen a dead fairy before. Not that she wanted to.

"No, no, he's fine, he's just stunned."

To their left, the Guard shifted from one foot to the other, his armor complaining with a metallic whine. Both wolves winced at the high-pitched noise.

"Uggh…I'm glad he takes good care of his armor…" Tejina grumbled. She looked over at Timbre, who had retreated back around the corner. He was back in human form, with the fairy held carefully in his cupped hands. The gray wolf followed suit, remembering at the last second the bundle of Rupees. She batted it into the entrance, then also retreated.

Tejina leaned against the wall with a sigh. "Your hour is going to be over and you will not have finished the job," she warned, with a low whimper.

Timbre glanced up and nodded in agreement. "Unless that Guard goes away soon, I'm gonna give up. I can always come back tomorrow, you know." As he spoke, Tael groaned loudly and his purple glow re-lit.

"Ouch…" The fairy sat up, rubbing his forehead. "Where am I?"

"Near the Laundry Pool. You got knocked out again."

"_Again_?" Tejina scoffed silently.

"Oh. Yeah, I fell out of Kafei's window. Must've hit the ground." The miniscule figure stood gingerly in Timbre's hand, flexing gossamer wings. "Ugh, I'm okay now…" He concentrated a little, and his wings moved in a blur. Soon he was hovering again.

Tejina stared in amazement. She'd heard fairies recovered from injuries quickly, but she'd never seen a living creature come out of total unconsciousness that quickly.

"That's good, your sister would murder us otherwise," Timbre said, not joking in the slightest.

The purple fairy finally noticed Tejina. "Who's this? Wait…is it…_oh no way!_" He exclaimed suddenly. "You're that girl from the show!"

Tejina looked mildly shocked as she suddenly reverted to human form. "How'd you know it was me?"

Tael grinned. "Just a hunch. Speaking of, what're you both doing down here at night? You're supposed to be at Kafei's, Tim! Everyone's wondering about you!"

Timbre smirked guiltily. "Uh, I'm on a secret mission." Tael scoffed at the lame excuse. "Okay, okay, I'm delivering some money as compensation for knocking that crate over, okay? Trouble is, that Guard's in the way, so I can't sneak by."

All three peered around the corner again. The Guard hadn't moved an inch.

"If only we could get him to go away…" Tejina mused. Then she blinked, and she and Timbre exchanged knowing glances. Tael rolled his eyes.

"Alright, I'll go distract the guy so you can do whatever…Just as long as I don't get swatted…" Tael had an irritable streak, but it wasn't half as long as his sister's.

**-;O;-**

Shiro the guard blinked in sudden shock as something purple flashed directly in his eyes, jingling loudly. "What the-" He grunted loudly, armor clanking. Tael dodged as a hand swiped at him, slowed down as it was by the metallic gauntlet it wore.

"Woop, missed me!" He crowed, divebombing Shiro's helmeted head.

"Ack! Stay still, you little-" The man yelled as the fairy suddenly bopped him on the nose. Angrily, he did a little dance of frustration as the fairy made a rude noise at him. "Ugh, I hate fairies!"

So distracted was the guard by the fairy, he didn't notice the two four-legged shadows that slipped behind him and into the entrance to West Clock Town. As they did so, the Clock Tower boomed twelve times.

Across town, on the Mayor's roof, Sond yawned a little. "Twelve o'clock," she murmured to herself.

Midnight.


	8. Chapter 8

An Act to Follow - Part 8 - A series of unfortunate events

Timbre and Tejina were not wholly aware how fortunate they really were.

Barely a minute after they left, Captain Viscen arrived, in his entire armored splendor, at the entrance to East Clock Town. He looked slightly nervous, as if apprehensive about the events to come. He'd hired Veneer to take care of this problem _for _him, but instead the hunter had demanded that he and his Guard actively participate. He shifted impatiently in his heavy armor, but he didn't have long to wait.

Veneer seemed in a more amiable mood come darkness. "Still wearing that getup, Viscen?" Veneer rumbled as he approached, a cloaked shadow. Viscen only recognized him because he had spoken.

"A Captain's armor is his badge," he replied boldly.

"Oh all right then, _Captain_," Veneer chuckled humorlessly. "Just don't blame me when the Wolfos bears you down with one swipe due to that collection of metal you've got on."

"Pardon?"

"_One swipe_, Viscen."

The Captain swallowed. He'd never thought himself a cowardly man, or one prone to terror, but somehow just being around the dry humorless rustle of Veneer's voice brought out the worst in him. Removing all but the chestplate and helmet of his armor, he piled the rest, mostly ornamental, into a pile with a metallic clatter. When he looked up, Veneer was already moving away.

Viscen quickly caught up. "What-"

"Might I suggest that silence is a good skill to learn, Captain?"

The Captain inhaled sharply, drawing himself up. He was beginning to regret having summoned the rude bounty hunter in many ways. "Now just a-"

He would have continued if not for the sight in front of him. The Guard, who was supposed to be keeping at his post in front of East Clock Town, was facing the wrong way, head turned upwards in ridiculous fashion. Veneer didn't comment, but he seemed to be laughing to himself. Viscen boiled a little inside.

"Shiro! Stand at attention!"

The Guard jolted out of his staring at the sound of Viscen's voice and stood at attention, eyes wide.

"Hmm, that's better. Anything to report, Shiro?" Viscen's eyes narrowed, his voice husky and commanding.

"A…a fairy attacked me, sir?" The guard Shiro said, a little foolishly.

Veneer laughed silently.

Viscen stared the younger officer in the eye. "Indeed. Might I suggest, soldier, that even if one intends to take the night watch, one should remember proper conduct?" Shiro swallowed.

"Yessir," the guard mumbled.

"What did you say?"

"Yes sir!" Shiro saluted.

"Hmmf, that's more like it. Dismissed!"

"Yes sir!"

Viscen rolled his eyes as they moved past Shiro into West Clock Town. Veneer finally sobered.

"Good help, it's so hard to find, isn't it Captain?"

"Harumph! If I might be so bold to ask, what exactly did you need me for?" Viscen said condescendingly. If Veneer was going to insult him, then Viscen was going to throw his superior rank.

The mercenary threw the attitude right back at the Captain. "I thought that would be obvious to a highly-ranked individual such as yourself. That is the beginning of the trail. Well, come along, Captain! Don't want to stall, do we?"

Viscen growled under his breath. He really, truly, could hate that man.

**-;O;-**

"Are you done yet?" Tejina asked urgently, her tail waving with impatience. West Clock Town was currently deserted, but there was no telling how long it would stay that way.

Timbre had carefully threaded his way amongst the cordoned-off area that was the scene of the vandalism. _Though it can hardly be called that if it wasn't deliberate_, he thought. He had to be careful not to upset anything or leave any new tracks.

Choosing a spot free of honey and splinters, Timbre gently laid the note and the rupees in front of the remains of the crate. Anybody would notice it if they looked at the scene for long enough. Hopefully it would be found and everyone would forget about his mistake. At least he hoped so.

Two jumps later and the wolf stood alongside Tejina. Her nose wrinkled scornfully.

"That took too long. We need to get going."

"Right." Timbre took two steps back the way they had come when-

"_Yip_!" Timbre looked behind him, and saw Tejina standing resolutely with his tail clenched firmly between her jaws. Feeling a little sympathy for Ty, who'd had several similar experiences, he glared at Tejina. "Do you mind?!"

Tejina let his tail go. "Not that way!"

"Tael said he would keep the Guard distracted until we got back."

"I think I hear footsteps. The Guard's coming!"

"They're noisy and clank when they walk, it can't be."

"It's downwind. We don't know what's down there-"

"There's _nothing_ down there." He started walking again.

"You _idiot_!" This time Tejina's teeth bit down on his tail painfully.

It was as if she'd cast a magic spell that suddenly transformed his annoyance into real anger. Timbre whirled and snapped at her so suddenly that Tejina jumped away just in time. "That's _it_! I've _had_ it with you! You're just here to _insult_ me about everything, aren't you?"

"Tim-"

"No. You _mock_ me, you have nothing but criticism for everything-"

"Tim-"

"_No._ _Listen_. And you push around, like this is all some kind of game. _It isn't_. _Why can't you just leave me alone_?!"

Tejina seemed to shrink. She backed away slowly, her tail between her legs, her eyes fixed fearfully on his.

Timbre stood furiously, as if his gaze alone could will her to disappear-

Then the wind shifted. With it came the odor of rusty resentment and metal. Dust, hair, oils, sweat, tanned animal skins, and-

"_Bad smell_," Tejina squeaked.

Timbre shivered and his fur stood up on end as his temper quickly receded into confusion and then into rising anxiety. Where had he run into that 'bad smell' before, and why was it so unsettling? Tejina's eyes had gone wide and her legs rigid. She'd completely lost her casual air of divertissement and condescension; without either she suddenly seemed so much smaller, vulnerable, and afraid.

Whatever the reason was for the menacing scent, they needed to hide, _now_. Remembering his hiding place from the previous night, Timbre looked behind the stack of crates directly behind the taped-off area. Good, he could still wedge himself back there. He looked back at Tejina, who had not moved since the wind shifted.

He was furious with her, but still, he couldn't just _leave_ her there like that…she'd be seen…

"Come on, back here, quickly!" he said to her, but she didn't move. It was like she'd become a chiseled stone statue, frozen staring wide-eyed down the street. If he didn't do something, she was going to be caught out in the open. He could already hear the footsteps getting louder.

Trotting quickly back over to her, he grated, "_Move_!" and at the same moment headbutted her roughly in the direction of the crates. This did the trick. Tejina made a small alarmed sound and scampered into the hiding place, and Timbre swiftly followed.

He had considered running instead, but there was no knowing who or what might be lurking along the street this time. Last time he'd panicked and been very lucky that he'd run into a friend. There was no knowing if that luck would hold out. Behind the crates, they weren't out of danger, but at least it was more secure than running blindly around in the open_._

_Who's an idiot now, _he thought triumphantly. He was about to turn and tell Tejina this when he noticed the utterly haunted look in her wide eyes. She shivered fitfully, ears back, leaning heavily against his right side in the cramped quarters. Something about this had her completely spooked. Timbre held his breath. The quiet footsteps told the approach of at least two people, heavy-set ones by the echo.

_Please just pass by, please,_ he implored silently, then his ears cupped forward. Whoever it was, they were talking in low tones.

"Is this the place?" the first voice was rough, masculine, and husky.

"Yes, we cordoned off the area, so the prints wouldn't be swept away. See?" a second voice, also male, but much more polite.

"Aye." There was a groan and a grunt as if the owner of the first voice had bent down. The bad smell became nearly overpowering. "Hmm…"

"So, what do you think?" he second voice asked.

There was a long pause, and then the first man's voice became serious. "Well, this situation has become very interesting. You were right. Definitely not a dog, the pads are too widely spaced. But it's not a Wolfos either, the claws aren't long enough."

"What?" There was a troubled cough.

"Viscen, you ever _seen_ a Wolfos track?" The first voice became condescending and exasperated. Timbre blinked. _Captain Viscen? Oh no-_

"Their paws are huge, with claws sometimes up to 2 inches long. It makes a more impressionable print then these-"

Suddenly Timbre remembered where he'd run into the other man, and what Tejina had called the 'bad smell' before. _The Laundry Pool this morning, the huge man in the furs, the ones that smelled like_-

"What's this?" Viscen interrupted Timbre's train of thought, and he heard the sound of something being picked up. "Rupees?" _Aha, he found it_, Timbre thought. "And a note…hmm, what do you make of this, Veneer?"

There was a snort from the man named Veneer. "Let me see that paper a moment." There was a momentary rustling, then another snort. "Look at those even indents on the paper. Hmm…well I'll be…"

"What?"

"Well, those intents are tooth marks. You see, here, and here. The creature that made those prints is also the one responsible for this."

"_What_?" This time Viscen sounded very unnerved. The acrid smell of sweat and metal swirled about.

There was a long pause, and then: "Viscen, do you have any records of shapeshifters in your city?"

"Of _what?!_" Viscen sounded as if he thought his companion clearly mad.

"Shapeshifters. Form changers. Do you know of any living in this city?"

"Of any _what_?"

There was an exasperated sigh. "Let me ask again. Does the term 'wolf' mean anything to you?"

A deep pit had been slowly forming in Timbre's stomach, but Veneer's last question almost made him bark aloud in shock. As ice seemed to run through his whole body, Tejina's bass drum heartbeat hammered even more frantically against his side. He tried to keep his mind off his immediate panic by concentrating on the men's argument.

"Well, I've heard of Wolfos, bu-"

"Don't be foolish, you know what I said, Captain."

"W-well, yes. I've heard the word before-"

"Well, to refresh your memory, O fearless Captain Viscen, a _Wolfos_ is a fearsome beast, but a _wolf_ is a demon that can change its shape at will. It can appear human one moment, and the next become a beast not unlike your typical Wolfos. Smart as a human but with a Wolfos' murderous instinct, _incredibly_ dangerous. Born killers. You've heard of them before, I _know_ you have."

"W-well, there's stories, b-but I always thought they were…you know, _extinct_. Or just made up. There's been no record of any sort of creature like that here in living memory. It couldn't _possibly_-"

"Oh you fool," the Veneer's voice became very bitter.

"There isn't a…it couldn't _possibly_ be-"

There was no speaking, which probably meant Veneer was simply glaring at the Captain. Viscen's voice sighed in resignation.

"Are you _sure_ this is what we're dealing with? Have you ever dealt with a…a wolf, before?"

There was a long pause, and then: "I have. I've been a hunter my entire life, Captain. My father and his father before him were hunters as well. And we have all run into these beasts at one time or another, and seen what they are capable of. Trust me when I say I know what we're dealing with, here."

And then suddenly Timbre realized what the furs lining Veneer's cloak were.

_Wolf furs_. Timbre shuddered, feeling suddenly sick.

Viscen spoke. "What about this paper? Why would it-"

"Well, I could say I was a prince, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm telling the truth! These beasts are cunning. If it thinks it might have been detected, it might attempt to throw you off its trail. If I hadn't been here, you would have eventually convinced yourself that someone's dog had caused an accident, and the owner anonymously paid the damages, aye?"

Viscen said nothing.

"Like I said, they're smart."

"It hasn't harmed anyone yet."

"Key word there is 'yet,' Viscen. If the beast is here, it will be here for a reason. Looking for an opportunity, perhaps? And opportunity could easily be a wandering child, or an elder. Possibly a soldier not paying attention at his post…"

"You said it is intelligent. Can't it be reasoned with?"

_Of course it can! _ Timbre thought indignantly. _If you humans weren't so eager to _kill_ it first!_

"…I have yet to be able to reason with one," was all Veneer would say.

"Fine. Then what _can_ we do, if there's something loose that _looks_ human, and _seems_ human, but _isn't_?" Viscen stammered. "I mean, I can't just announce this in the middle of the Festival! Especially after last spring, the last thing I want in this city is another panic on my hands. The reputation of this city-"

"_Your_ hands and _your_ city, Captain, I'll have nothing to do with your political affairs. You hired me to alleviate your little problem here, and if that means int-"

"Veneer, our agreement was for a discreet disposal." Timbre swallowed hard. It was incredibly difficult to sit still and listen to the plans for one's own extermination. Tejina shivered into him. Viscen's voice grew hard. "That bargain still stands. I want you to catch this thing, and I want you to do it quietly. Surely a hunter of your experience should be able to do this. You can either keep this business between me and my Guard or you can consider yourself dismissed. I am very serious."

Veneer growled a little under his breath, but ultimately had to submit to this declaration. "For your sake," he muttered, "I hope nobody is attacked by the beast before I find it. It's going to be very difficult, nigh impossible to pull it out of a crowd like your Festival without rousing some sort of suspicion."

"For now," Viscen said, "Let me offer a compromise. I will double the patrols, and order all four gates locked at night. Nobody will enter or leave Clock Town without going thorough some sort of investigation first. It might raise a few eyebrows, but I could easily spread the rumor of a burglar." There was a jangling as if Viscen had pocketed the Rupees.

"Fair enough, Viscen. You might be a puppet, but at least you've got a little sense."

"Now," Viscen started, ignoring the last comment. "Is there any way we'll know this…this wolf…when we see it?"

"As they are natural shapeshifters, it will be difficult. It's one of the reasons they're so dangerous. But yes, there are a few things to watch out for. Now, judging by the distance between tracks, this one's not fully grown…"

"Not fully grown?" Viscen repeated nervously.

"Oh yes. I'd say this one's still a juvenile, same for its human form. That does narrow down the search."

"Not by much."

"Yes yes, I know, don't want to exert your force any more then they're used to. I mean if that layabout we met a few minutes ago is any representative-"

"Are there any other distinguishing features, Veneer? At least in the stories I've heard there always are."

Veneer chuckled. "Now who's changing the subject? Hah. Yes, well, the stories did get that right. No shapeshifter can ever fully hide its true nature, if you know what to look for. One thing to look for is the hands. It'll be wearing gloves in human form."

"Gloves?"

"Odd as it may sound, wolves always have gloves in human form. Maybe just one, maybe a matching pair, maybe an unmatched pair, maybe fingerless, maybe not, but always gloves."

Timbre swallowed.

"Gloves, right. That's easy enough, though again, not very distinctive. Anything else?"

"Their eyes. Their eyes can't quite hide the beast lurking within. They'll reflect bright light, just like a cat's."

"Hmm. Again, not very helpful. Shining lights in people's eyes at the town entrances would certainly raise a few eyebrows. But maybe if we claim the burglar has unusual eyes-"

"Hmm, there may be hope for you yet, Viscen."

The Captain grumbled at the condescending voice. "So when we find it-"

"That part would be my job, Viscen."

"Certainly. But how can I instruct my guards to defend themselves if need be?"

"Well, fighting a single wolf – they're about as your normal Wolfos, and can be dispatched in a similar way. Of course, if you aren't expecting it, or against a pack…"

"_Veneer_!"

"My apologies. Heh. Another thing. They're weak to silver. Not like how you've heard, though. The stories make it sound like the stuff is poisonous to them, but that's nonsense. Pure silver metal simply inhibits certain types of magical processes, like those that shapeshifters use to change form. Get a wolf in direct contact with some silver, and they'll be stuck as whatever they are, beast or human, until they're free of it again."

Timbre chanced a glance at Tejina, whose eyes were now firmly shut.

"Good, then I'll relay this to my Guard. They're already posted at the four entrances. We usually guard the gates night and day, and since we're in heightened security due to the Festival we've been checking those who enter as well. These extra measures we discussed can be easily taken."

"Are you going to tell any of this to your Mayor?" Veneer called to the retreating sound of footsteps.

After a moment's pondering, Viscen gave his answer. "I believe I will keep this to myself, at least for the time being. The Mayor's a very nervous man with a lot on his plate already. No, news like this is bound to cause him alarm and untold stress. Best try to first work this out quietly."

**-;O;-**

Now that Viscen had taken his leave, Veneer allowed himself a more thorough investigation of the area. Turning his head, he judged the angle of momentum of the crate, based on the position of the destroyed crate and bottles. _Now Viscen said he came up from the southern end, which seems correct, as the prints point north, towards the opposite end of the street…_

Here the tracker paused a moment, thinking. If his quarry had run away in response to the arrival of the Guard, then it could have slipped out of Clock Town's western gate. He'd have to investigate the area later to prove his idea, but he had business here first.

Judging from the height needed to cause the crate to come to pieces, Veneer judged that it had probably originated on top of the eight remaining crates. In order for the crate to fall forwards as it had, then something must have knocked or pushed it from the other side, while on top of the pyramid.

Furrowing a brow, Veneer cleared his throat. Why on top, though? Height was usually a benefit in that it gave on a better view of its surroundings. And situated behind the ninth crate before it had fallen would've proved both a good vantage point as well as a good hiding place.

_But what exactly was it doing here?_ Veneer turned his head. There didn't seem to be any tactical advantage, unless it had been specifically waiting for somebody to pass by. Too bad there were few witnesses, the man thought. If there had been, his job would be so much easier. But the only people the Guard had seen that night had claimed to see nothing, at least that's what Viscen had told him.

_And any of those same witnesses could have been the wolf in disguise_. _What if there was something behind the crate,_ he suddenly thought. _Maybe it was lurking behind there, and something spooked it._ Veneer raised an eyebrow. Giving himself the benefit of the doubt, he knelt down, on the left side of the stack.

Behind the crate, two pairs of eyes slowly widened as Veneer's knees came into view, and the smell of his fur lined cloak became overwhelming. Veneer was just bending down when-

A loud clatter abruptly echoed through the night.

Veneer started, drawing his hunting knife. Behind the crate, Timbre's ears lifted in confusion. Veneer's scent was intense, but there was a second scent that hadn't been there a moment ago. It smelled of coffee and beeswax, and it was familiar. Timbre wrinkled his nose, his eyes wide in recognition.

_But how did Sond_-

Veneer growled. It had been a long time since he'd been startled. Apparently he was a little more focused on this investigation then he'd thought. Turning his head to the left, he stood and peered northwards down the dark street.

There was an eerie giggle.

Behind Veneer, a violet glow looped over the high roofs and quickly slipped into the space behind the crates. Both wolves stared upwards at it, their hearts still racing as Tael made the 'quiet' handsignal. He pointed at both of them, then towards the south. _Get going, now! Both of you!_ Timbre nodded vigorously, and took the fairy's advice. He had to gently nudge Tejina along, but her legs seemed to be working properly again.

Veneer scowled, trying to hold in some measure of patience. He peered into the darkness. "Who's there?" He called out.

The darkness giggled again. From up ahead, a faint golden light flickered.

"Hey mister!"

"What the-" Veneer brandished his knife at the voice behind him, only to be greeted by a blinding purple aura. "Argh!" The man lunged at the fairy, but missed. Tael whooped, then sped off southwards after the wolves.

Around the corner, Sond heard this cue and quickly slipped away, extinguishing the Light Arrow. Her Kokiri-made boots made barely any sound as she ran northwards down the cobblestone street. Turning sharply to the right, she passed the statue of an owl with outspread wings. As she ran, the Clock Tower turned the half-hour.

The hunter rubbed his eyes in aggravation. Before anything else occurred, he stuck his head behind the crates and glared around. Lights were still dancing in his vision, but it was clear to see there was nothing there. With a growl, Veneer pounded his fist into the hard stone ground, ignoring the pain this caused. Then sighing, Veneer pulled himself upright, rubbing his temples.

"I hate fairies," he grumbled.

**-;O;-**

They made their escape easily enough. Keeping to the walls, Timbre and Tejina slipped from shadow to shadow, nosing behind tents and their snoring occupants, or sometimes squashing themselves between kiosks. There were enough Guards about to make them extra cautious.

As they moved along the walled circumference of Clock Town, they didn't speak. Timbre led, Tejina following silently. Timbre finally stopped behind a kiosk next to a small alleyway in East Clock Town. Tejina looked at him in mute confusion.

"Yes, I know we've gone past the Inn." He glanced nervously from side to side. "It's just…you heard Viscen and that other guy talking, right?"

Tejina agreed meekly, waving her tail once, her eyes downcast.

"Look, if we don't both leave Clock Town _tonight_, it's going to be _very_ difficult to leave later. There's going to be Guards _everywhere_ come tomorrow. It's best if we leave as soon as possible."

Tejina stared at the ground for a moment, ears twitching. Then finally she looked up again. Her tail waved again in tacit agreement.

Timbre wished she would speak to him. It made him feel too much like he was giving orders. "Right. There's a way down into the sewers from here. That leads into a passageway down to the Astral Observatory. And there's a door leading outside of town. There's a fence, but we can jump it easily enough. This way." He led the way down into the dark alley, squeezing easily into a wide culvert that led into Clock Town's storm sewer. The air became dank and heavy with the smell of mold and rodents.

As they walked, Timbre chanced a look back at Tejina. He'd been quite angry with her, and there was still part of him yet that was angry yet. However, he vividly recalled the haunted look in her eyes when she'd scented the hunter, and he felt suddenly responsible. _She_ hadn't been the one who'd put the town on high alert, after all; that was his doing. She'd come here as a simple performer, unawares and blameless, even if she _had_ then barged her way into his business. If anything happened to her-

"Timbre."

He quickly turned his nose forwards as she spoke. "Hmm?"

"About before. I didn't mean to insult you."

"Hmph."

"And you're right. I shouldn't make light of this. I was just trying to help."

"…watch out, there's Skulltullas down here sometimes." He jumped suddenly across a water channel as if making a point of not responding to her directly.

Tejina followed gracefully. "It's just…I've never actually met another wolf before, and…I-I just wanted to, well-"

That gave him pause. "Never?"

There was no immediate reply, but he was pretty sure she'd silently confirmed this.

"So Kei and Ana-"

"They found me when I was very young. I don't remember anything from before then."

"Oh."

Tejina wrinkled her nose, her confidence slowly returning. "It smells funny in here…" she declared suddenly. "And it's wet too, my paws are soaked."

"Well, I did say it was storm drain, not a garden path. And it's not sewage in this part, just stagnant water, see?"

"It smells like there's mice down here. Do you ever hunt mice?"

"Sometimes. Yes."

"Kei really doesn't like it when I do. Ana just says I should keep it to myself." She seemed amused at the idea. "Do your friends mind?"

"Well, Nick hates it," Timbre admitted, "But the others don't seem to mind as much, or if they do, they don't admit it." They continued down the wet passageway for another moment. The silence felt awkward, so he added, "I caught my first rabbit this spring."

She made a sound that indicated both delight and envy. "And how did your friends react to that one?"

"Well actually…that's kind of how they found out what I really was…anyway, here's the ladder. It leads up to the Observatory from here-" Here several moments were taken in conquering the vertical climb. The ladder required hands and therefore a switch to human form.

Timbre was familiar with the climb; he made it to the top first, and was waiting for Tejina to follow when her foot unexpectedly slipped on one of the rungs. She yelped as she lost her balance and fell backwards. But she abruptly stopped her yell as she realized she was no longer falling. Opening one eye, she discovered Timbre had grabbed her by the wrist.

A moment's scramble later and she'd made it to high ground. "Uh…thanks." She stammered, looking a little pink in the dim light.

Timbre quickly looked the other way. "Uh, yeah…be careful next time, okay? Come on, the observatory's right ahead…"

**-;O;-**

Frustrated, Timbre rattled the doorknob leading to the outside of the Observatory. It was no use; the door was locked. Tejina chewed her lip, agitated.

"It's locked?!" She hissed urgently.

Timbre's eyes narrowed, but he couldn't look at her. "It's locked," he sighed. He stopped himself from kicking the door, as that wouldn't help things any and only create noise.

The colorful Astral Observatory was closed, as the old man who ran it was out of town for the Festival. He'd locked the place up, probably out of concern of curious hands damaging the intricate instruments. The astronomer's careful planning had unfortunately spelled trouble for two children.

The girl began to nervously pace back and forth, from the door, to the small exhibit that held a stone known as the Moon's Tear. It glowed faintly in the dark domed building. "So what do we do now?" She said, looking back at Timbre.

The boy started. He hadn't realized it until now, but the look on her face was quite frightened. He'd managed to alert her to the fact that they were literally stuck in Clock Town, and now that their only means of leaving the town had been locked, her eyes were filled with apprehension. He suddenly felt terrible about everything.

"I've made a mess of everything, and now you're stuck in it too."

Tejina blinked. "What?"

"I mean, if I hadn't tried to snoop on your disappearing act, none of this would've happened! That crate would still be intact, Viscen wouldn't have a clue I was here, and that…ugh, _hunter_, wouldn't have come. And _you_ wouldn't have gotten involved. It's all my fault!"

Despite everything, Tejina's eyes lit up and she faintly giggled.

"Guess I should be flattered," she said with half a smile.

"Hey, this is serious! What're we gonna do?"

"Tim, do you know _why_ Kei and I do my disappearing act as a finale? Don't argue for a moment, just listen."

He glowered at her, and she quickly added, "Please." He sighed and gestured for her to carry on.

"The reason we do that part last is because it wouldn't have half the impact it does if I simply reappeared moments later. As far as the audience is concerned, once I vanish, I'm gone for good. It's all part of the trick, don't you see?"

"Okay…"

"So that's exactly what we'll do, a disappearing act. Viscen doesn't actually have _proof_ you're still in the city, for all he knows you might've left long before he put up the extra Guard. So if nothing happens for the rest of the Festival-"

"-he'll lay off since he thinks I'm no longer here!" Timbre looked impressed. "That might just work! But…what if he doesn't lower the security right away? Won't you and Kei and Ana have to leave right after the festival?"

"We have a better chance of that _not_ being an issue if we make ourselves scarce for a day or so."

"Okay then," Timbre let the door alone. "So where do we go?"

"Can't we stay here? It isn't so bad a place."

"We can't. There's a gang of kids in town called the Bombers, and they use this place as their hideout. Even though it's closed, they're friends with the old man who runs this place, and they've probably promised to keep an eye on things. I think for now we'd better get back to the Inn."

"Kei and Ana are probably getting worried by now," Tejina agreed. "And they might be able to help."

"I don't think going back to the Mayor's would be such a good idea for me anymore. Hmm…I hope Sond and Tael got back okay. We really need to thank her later if we can find her. Now let's get out of here before we break something."

"Race you!" Tejina grinned, suddenly changing forms and dashing off down the stairs. Timbre stared in bewilderment. _One moment she's ready to scream from panic, then she brushes it off as if it were nothing._ He was never, ever going to understand this girl. He then rolled his eyes and followed suit, nearly falling nose over tail down the stairs in his impatience to catch up.

Making it back along the passage took a shorter time than going up it. For one thing, they simply jumped down the ladder as opposed to climbing down. The water was easy enough to jump across, and this time Tejina didn't complain about the smell. Timbre was still trying to catch up to her, and failing. He caught her dark tailtip flicking around the corner that led steeply upwards towards the entrance ramp. Narrowing his eyes, he charged up the ramp-

And abruptly collided with her. His momentum had the unfortunate side effect of slamming both of them into the reason that Tejina had halted in the first place.

That reason was a small nine-year old boy named Jim, leader of the Bombers Secret Society of Justice.

**-;O;-**

Sond was clear across East Clock Town when she heard Jim's screams.

"**AIYEEEEEEEEE**!"

_By Farore's wind,_ she thought, recognizing the voice. _That kid screams like a Redead_. Abandoning her previous direction, she dusted herself off. Tael jumped off her shoulder as Sond ran off in the direction of the disturbance.

"That _can't_ be good," he groaned, stating the completely obvious. He then followed after the girl as fast as his wings could carry him.

**-;O;-**

At first, both of them had stared in blank shock at the small boy. Then Jim had screamed, and it was like they'd suddenly remembered they had legs. Sheer panic drove caution to the winds, and the two of them bolted side-by-side, straight through East Clock Town without any mind to hiding or concealment.

Then the first Guard arrived, running towards the sound of Jim's hysterics. They saw him at the same time he spotted them. The guard yelled in alarm and started to lower his spear.

As if the two of them had long practiced the maneuver, the wolves neatly separated and slipped around the guard on either side, as if he were merely a stone diverting a stream. As soon as they were past, they both fell back into step, quickly turning their flight towards the Inn, the guard's yells fading quickly behind them.

Jim's screams had met several other pairs of ears. Many of the occupants of the tents lining the streets poked sleepy heads out, blinking in confusion at the sudden noise. Within several minutes Jim had attracted every free member of the Clock Town Guard, including Captain Viscen and Veneer, to his side.

"Sir!" The guard who had seen Timbre and Tejina saluted. "I saw the Wol-" he withered as Viscen suddenly rounded on him.

"Quiet! Do you want to panic the town? Get all these citizens out of here. Hold on a moment." Viscen stooped quickly as the boy continued to make a cacophonous fuss. Many sleep-tousled heads were now peering intently down at them out of windows in the local district. The guards bustled about, reassuring the merchants that they had everything under control. Most of the civilians grumbled, but retreated without much argument.

Veneer, who was still in a bad mood from his earlier encounter, suggested that they gag the child until he was ready to calm down. He then promptly ignored the myriad of glares this comment received.

"No, in cases like this it's best to let him calm down by himself."

"But it might be getting away!"

"No, all the gates are locked. They're all guarded by trusted men that wouldn't leave their posts, unless ordered to. Now my boy," he began kindly to Jim, who'd gone from all out hysterics to whimpering, "do you think you could tell us what you saw?"

Jim blubbered a little, rubbing his tear-streaked face with the back of his hand. "T-t-two!"

"What? Take your time."

"Oh for the Goddess's mercy, just tell us where it went, boy!" Veneer snapped.

Jim sniffled. "S-sorry s-sirs…b-but there were t-two!"

"What is he babbling about?" Veneer scowled.

"Two what?" Viscen asked calmly. "Tell me quietly."

"Two Wolfos! I was j-just walkin' 'cause Professor Shikashi said to watch 'is place an' they ran into m-me!"

Veneer's eyes widened and he half-gasped. "Two? Where did they go, boy?! Tell me!"

"…dunno."

Veneer growled. "Lousy kids-"

"Quiet, Veneer," Viscen ordered, beckoning to one of the guards. "You, er, Alf!"

"Sir?"

"You said you saw them?"

"Yes sir. I tried to stop them but they both slipped right past me."

"Where did they head?"

A mailed hand, still shaking slightly, pointed in the general direction of the Stock Pot Inn. "They want that way, sir."

Jim looked up at Viscen. "Do I get a reward f' being so brave?"

Viscen chuckled gently; he was glad the boy wasn't really injured. "I think something like that would be in order…"

Meanwhile, Veneer had slipped away the instant the guard had pointed him, as silent and intent as a great cat on the hunt.


	9. Chapter 9

An Act to Follow – Part 9 – Disappearing Act

So, there were _two_ of them.

Veneer's eyes narrowed at the thought. _Two means twice the danger,_ he thought. A loner might have been easy enough to corner, but having two was going to be twice the burden. Twice the trouble.

_Then again,_ that little voice in his head persisted, _two means twice the reward_. How much had he asked for? Six hundred? Well, if he'd known what he was dealing with, he would have charged a thousand or more. And with two around…well, there wasn't anything saying doubling his fee might be in order…

Veneer didn't consider himself a greedy person. He, just like any other, had his own life to take care of and felt that his services deserved their proper due. Then again, a little extra wealth on the side never hurt anyone, right?

The hunter managed to shake himself out of his greed-oriented stupor as he neared the Inn. He'd approached the place with a slowness that was nearly agonizing. Move _too_ slowly, and he was in danger of losing his quarry. Move too fast, and they'd be alerted to his presence, and run away, or possibly attack.

Veneer hoped for the second in such a case. He'd rather fight now than draw it out, no matter how dangerous that might be. Then again, from those tracks, and the prints-at least he wasn't dealing with fully grown adults. He'd had enough of those to know it was a treacherous business.

But enough of that. He was at his goal; flattened into the shadows on the southern end of the Inn, the place that guard had pointed him to. Now all he had to do was keep his eyes and other senses open.

So far, there wasn't a sound. It was if they had known he was coming. Blast!

_Patience,_ a small voice sounded in his head. _Be patient_.

The minutes ticked by, and the area remained as silent and motionless as ever. It was so still, Veneer swore he could hear his own heartbeat as if it were somebody pounding on a drum. If the wolves had been here, they weren't now.

The still was cut by a single loud curse.

**-;O;-**

If Veneer had arrived even one minute earlier, things would have played out much differently. Both wolves had taken off the moment Jim started yelling, fortunately for them they both chose the same direction: towards the Inn, where they had originally been headed.

Tejina was the first to voice an opinion. "That was probably a bad thing."

Timbre glared. "Thank you _so_ much for that assessment…" Both of them had paused for breath, peering around from a small empty alcove in East Clock Town. Tejina backed up, sniffing at a strange pink flower that protruded from the ground in the alcove. It was huge, nearly three feet in diameter.

"What _is_ this thing?"

"It's a Deku flower." Timbre turned his head back towards the Inn. "Never mind that, we need to find a way into the Inn. The upper balcony door's usually unlocked. Think we could climb onto the roof?"

There was no answer.

"Hello?"

Still nothing.

"Hey, when I'm asking a question, I'm not just…doing it for…my own…good…um…" Turning his head, his dialogue slowly petered out. Tejina had vanished without a sound or trace.

Timbre shivered a little, staring down at the huge flower. She'd been getting on his nerves all day, and he'd been looking forward to the time when he wouldn't have to deal with her anymore. But now that she was gone…well, what was he supposed to do now? He suddenly felt very alone. Turning away from the flower, he stared pensively at the deserted town. Any minute, Timbre reflected, that hunter was probably going to find him, and then-

"_Yawp_!"

Something grabbed his tail – so much sympathy for Ty! – and dragged him forcefully backwards. He was so startled was he that he didn't even think to struggle. Moments later he found himself _somewhere_. Whereas the deserted square had been merely low of light, Timbre's eyes now met with near darkness. All he could smell was the overpowering perfume of nectar and pollen. He shivered, wondering if the hunter had caught up with him. He swallowed nervously.

Something nudged him in the back. He yelped and whirled around in a panic, only for his muzzle to painfully smash into something.

It smelled of fresh rosemary.

"You startle so easily," Tejina's growls pointed out matter-of-factly.

He decided not to rise to the bait. "Uh. Were are we?"

"We are in the Deku flower," she answered in that know-it-all tone.

"Oh, of _course._" Timbre glared, even though that didn't do much good. "Two questions. Why, and how?"

"Well," Tejina started, "The first seems kind of obvious, doesn't it? As for the second one, I suppose you'd better ask her."

Timbre turned his head directly to his left, where a pair of glowing coal-like eyes had suddenly come to life. They were sharing their somewhat cramped quarters with one of the plantlike Deku race. Timbre sniffed at her. She still smelled of coffee and beeswax, even in this form.

Of all their friends, Sond was the only one who regularly donned the strange masks they'd acquired during their adventure last spring. They'd all had to use them in the past, but she seemed to genuinely like their effects, even if in some cases it meant suddenly becoming a different race. Sometimes, Timbre wondered if Sond had simply been born the wrong sort of creature.

Although she couldn't understand them, Sond did her best to give an affirmative. Seconds later she put a wooden finger to her snout in a signal to keep it down, pointing directly upwards. Timbre nodded.

A short time later, a rather potent curse cut the air above them. The obscenity was followed by faint footsteps.

Timbre realized he'd been holding his breath. He was then faced with his third startled moment in five minutes as a light suddenly entered the confines, giving everything a weird bluish aura.

Tael waved. "Its alright, he's gone. At least for now."

Tejina shivered again. Her growl was suddenly raspy. "Guess maybe that disappearing act didn't start off so well, eh Tim?"

Timbre suddenly felt very awkward, probably due to the fact he was squashed in with three others in a rather confined space. "First thing's first, let's get to the Inn."

One short climb later, two humans, a fairy, and a Deku Scrub stood on the veranda alongside the upstairs door of the Stock Pot Inn. Timbre, in an afterthought, scrambled hastily over the thatch to grab his all-important overcoat. As he leaned on the door, he looked down.

"Hey Sond, you should probably take that mask off now…"

Sond blinked several times and huffed squeakily at Timbre. "Fine." The Deku put her hands up to her face, and there was a flash of blue light. The brown haired girl yawned, stowing the magical mask in a pouch attached to her belt. Tejina stared in amazement.

"So that whole story about you all saving the town really was true, wasn't it? Is that one of the masks you said turn you into different races? You guys really have some strange powers."

"Yeah, because turning into a four legged furry creature isn't strange at all," Sond replied, grinning. "So you're a wolf like Timbre, huh? That must be interesting."

"It's great fun, at least it was until that crazy hunter showed up."

"You were terrified," Timbre accused her. "And you really shouldn't make light of the situation. You smelled those furs he's wearing-"

The gray-haired girl shuddered reflexively. "Ugh, I know. Don't remind me."

"What?" Sond looked confused.

"Never mind," Timbre reassured her, not wanting her to worry too much.

Tejina shrugged. "But don't you find it kind of thrilling after you escape danger?"

"Or when someone helps you," Sond added pointedly.

Tael just smirked. "You two really should thank her. The moment she heard that Bomber brat screeching she was off like the hero to save your butts. Anyway, let's get inside. I've been swatted at, thrown out of a window, and nearly murdered by a psycho in a fur-lined tunic. I think it's time to call it a night."

The door creaked more loudly than usual, but maybe it was just their imaginations. It was dark inside, the innkeepers and tenants alike long gone to rest. Tejina led them two doors down, then stopped. "Here's our room. Hope someone's still awake." She knocked twice.

The door cracked open almost immediately, and Ana greeted them all with a stern look. From the sunken appearance of her eyes, it was apparent that she hadn't been asleep.

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to bring friends back," she said crossly. "Especially this late."

Tejina made a small noise. "Um…sorry?"

"We can explain," Timbre began.

Ana sighed. "I suppose you can, come on in…you certainly aren't going anywhere else tonight. Might be a bit cozy with extra people, but we'll manage." All four followed her resolutely into the small room. There were two cots, Keisou was currently sprawled asleep on one with his mouth wide open. As they entered, he mumbled something incoherent. Ana gestured at the corner, where a couple of pillows and blankets were neatly stacked.

"Only thing I can offer you others is the floor, unfortunately…" Before Ana's sentence had even finished, however, Sond had already bunked down. Tael too, quickly settled on a cushion with a tiny yawn. "Well, at least there are no complaints…"

Timbre and Tejina looked at each other and shrugged.

"As for you two!" They both jerked to attention at Ana's voice, soft enough not to wake the sleepers, but still sharp. She waggled a finger at them. "I know you wolves are nocturnal, but you're still kids. You need your sleep."

Timbre's jaw had gone slack. "How did you-"

Ana's observant eyes twinkled. "Boy, who do you think help raise Tee, someone with Chu jelly between her ears? I knew what you were the moment you looked me in the eye. Go to bed. Now."

From the tone of her voice, she sounded as if she meant it, so there were no arguments. To Tejina's bemusement, she watched as Timbre slumped down in the corner, as far as he could possibly get from her considering the smallness of the room. Without a second glance, he flopped onto a cushion, pulled his coat over his head and stopped moving.

_Hmm, guess he was tired,_ she thought. And Tejina didn't even realize how tired she really was either until she fell asleep the moment her head touched her pillow.

**-;O;-**

The morning sun glared brilliantly through the window in Kafei's room. Moments later, the purple-haired youth flung the window wide open, gasping.

"Mom must be trying to asphyxiate us or something, it must be a hundred degrees in here!" Kafei took a refreshing breath of air. Behind him, somebody groaned and fell out of bed. Luckily for her, the top bunk wasn't very high, so she wasn't injured. But it was certainly enough of a jolt to wake her up.

Kat squinted sleepily at Kafei as she disentangled herself. "Mornin'. Is Sond up there on the roof still?"

"Nope, I looked already." Kafei gave a start as Nick snorted in his sleep. Across the room, Link was still curled up, thumb halfway out of his slack jaw. A slight glowing bulge in his nearby hat meant that Tatl was also still asleep.

Kafei rolled his eyes. "Wherever she went, she's not here right now. Hopefully she found someplace to sleep."

Kat stretched. "Oy, what time is it?"

"Eight in the morning, about."

"Last day of the Festival. Hopefully your parents will be less insane once it's over, huh? What's the big story today? Not more dancing, right?"

"Actually, there's a talent show. Mom and Dad left early to organize it." Kafei smirked.

Nick opened one eye. He yawned. "Sommun' say talon?"

"'Talent,' not 'talon,'" Kafei corrected him. "But yeah, either groups or individually. I think the prize is a few hundred Rupees or something." Kafei stretched in boredom. "I'm hungry."

Kat looked thoughtful, ignoring Kafei's hunger. "I say we all go for it as a group."

"But I can't sing," Kafei protested.

"We 'cn bot' play m'drums. Like backup, y'see," Nick offered. He then looked over at the lumpy sleeping bag that contained Ty. "Oy! _Kaii_! Wake up tim'!"

"Wossat?" Ty blinked sleepily.

"We're going to enter the talent show," Kat informed him.

"Really now." Ty attempted to flatten his hair, but it was still sticking out at all angles. A prevalent pinkish stain still showed on the white streak. "Dumb Fairy Boy," he grumbled, casting a glare over at the Hylian. His glare soon turned to amusement. "Heheh, he's sucking his thumb again."

Chiron stirred. "What's so funny?"

"Him." Kafei thumbed backwards at the blonde boy.

"If we only had a pictograph box right now…" Chiron mused.

"Nah, not embarrassing enough…" Ty mumbled.

"You still on about that revenge thing?" Kat looked fretful.

"'Course. He doesn't get off that easily. Just wait until he sees what I have in store for him." Ty managed a rather toothy grin.

Kat frowned and decided to change the subject. "Anyways, it's not like we all can't sing or something. I mean, Sond's a good singer, so's Ty an' Chiron. Link's okay, I'm not horrible, and Tim-"

"Speakin' of," Nick said. "Where is 'ee? An' where's Sond?"

"Not here," Kafei shrugged. "Probably somewhere else, and with the heat in this room, I don't blame 'em too much." Kafei clapped his hands together. "Say, let's all of us who're awake get breakfast before there's too much of a crowd, alright?"

"Right."

"Yes'm."

"Alright."

"I'm starvin'."

As the five conscious people left Kafei's room, Ty couldn't help pulling a last wisecrack as he passed the sleeping Link.

"Sweet dreams, you big baby."

**-;O;-**

Ty later stared at the portly merchant with barely held interest.

"An' what do you call this stuff again?"

"Gelatin!" The man guffawed, and his stomach wobbled in the same manner as his products. The merchant's tent layout had changed; apparently the sellers were leased space in there by the day, as this man hadn't been in the tent yesterday. The early morning crowd's sounds mingled into a dull roar. "My boy, you ever boiled bones?"

"Uh, can't say that I have…" Ty said, his tail tapping the ground impatiently. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his friends, also idly browsing. Chiron and Nick were admiring a set of katanas that the mountain blacksmith Zubora and his hulking partner Gabora had put on display inside a glass case. Kat was ogling jewelry and dresses again, and Kafei was looking decidedly bored next to her.

"Well!" The portly gelatin man chortled, startling Ty. "I'd never tried it before either, until a couple of months ago. Tried makin' soup, instead, I got this stuff. When it's hot, it's like liquid, but when it cools off, it turns solid. Add fruits, and it takes on the flavor. Here, try the strawberry."

Ty did so. It wasn't the most pleasant texture, but it certainly tasted like strawberries.

"I got other flavors, too, y'know," the man rattled off, counting on his fingers. "Blueberry, grape, watermelon, raspberry…"

"Hey, what's this one?" Ty squinted at a yellowish wobbling mold.

"Oh, that's lemon. Nobody seems to like it too much. Must be the yellow color or the sour flavor, I suppose. It also stains when it melts." The man shrugged. "I've tried to get it to look more appetizing and less colorfast, but what can you do, you know?"

Ty leaned forward on the counter, looking confidential. "How much you got?"

Five minutes later, Kat squinted at Ty. "What'd you buy?"

"Nothing!" The boy smiled disarmingly, trying not to look suspicious. He changed the subject. "Anything else good?"

"All the dresses are so expensive," Kat sulked. "And not many of them are in my size. I can't wait until I'm taller. Oh well. Has anybody seen Sond or Tim?"

"Nope," Kafei shrugged. "Who knows how long they were out last night. Who knows if they're even awake at this point."

"They'll turn up eventually," Chiron said. Though his eyes looked less nonchalant than he sounded. "…right?"

"Maybe they left Clock Town for some reason," Kafei offered.

"We could always walk around and look for them," Kat said.

This idea was met with some assent, as the crowd at the merchant's tent was beginning to pick up in earnest.

It was nice to see Clock Town so lively, Kat mused, though she still was no fan of the bustling crowds. Compared starkly to the near ghost town it had been during last spring's carnival, she figured Clock Town needed the bustle every once in a while. She just wished it wasn't so difficult to get around.

They passed a kiosk where two redhead sisters in cream colored dresses and matching neckerchiefs where selling jars of fresh milk.

"Hello Cremia! Hello Romani!" Kat waved to them.

"Hello!" Cremia - the elder sister - waved back cheerily. "It's been a while!"

The group ambled over to get a break from the crowd. "How have things been, Cremia?" Kafei asked her. "I hope my parents haven't been too much of a bother for the merchants."

"Nah, it's been so busy, we've made a lot of business. That's worth any hassle."

"That's good. Who's watching the cows today?"

"Ah, Mutoh the head carpenter. He said he'd had enough of festivals for one year."

Romani - the younger sister - suddenly squinted at them. "Where is Grasshopper? I think his horse Epona's missed seeing him."

Ty sniggered. During their adventure that spring, they'd met the two sisters, and the younger Romani had insisted on calling Link 'Grasshopper,' much to the boy's chagrin. He sobered as Romani looked at him quizzically. "Er, he slept in. He'll be around later."

"Oh."

"Actually," Kafei suddenly said, "You haven't seen a few of our other friends wandering around? Sond and Tim, do you remember them?"

"Romani remembers," the little girl nodded. She had an odd habit of speaking in the third person. "The girl in green clothes with brown hair like autumn leaves, and the little boy in a big coat with hair like a raven's feathers."

"That's them, have you seen them?"

"No," Cremia said, frowning. "At least I don't remember seeing them. This crowd is pretty thick, though."

"Maybe they really did leave town," Kafei said to the others.

"I doubt it," Cremia said. "Have you seen the line at the Southern Gate? All the other three entrances are the same, I heard."

All of them stared towards the Southern Gate.

"Loo' like a border p'trol, dunit?" Nick said, surprised, and everyone nodded in agreement.

Normally, there was only a single guard at the gate, who would wave people by in a relaxed manner. Every once in a while he'd stop someone, but normally he was just there to make sure no straying children or unprepared fools ventured outside by themselves. Today, there were three Clock Town Guards stationed in front of the arched gate that led through the outer wall out of town. They looked like they meant business. There was a line to exit, and each person was being carefully scrutinized.

"What the-" The sentiment was echoed though all five children at the same time.

Cremia seemed just as baffled as they were. "They're searching people today. Apparently a kid got mugged last night or something, and they're looking for the culprit. All four gates are like this, awfully strange."

"Romani heard there's a monster loose in town!"

Cremia hushed her younger sister sternly. "That's just a silly rumor!"

Romani hopped around the kiosk to join the other children. She lowered her voice. "Not too loud now. Romani has been watching that gate very closely this morning. They are being quite thorough. See?"

She pointed at a Hylian man at the head of the line, who was being patted down by two guards. All of them watched as one guard suddenly grabbed and held the man's head still while the other shone a bright lantern in his eyes. The startled man was then released and waved through, rubbing his face and grumbling incomprehensible dark words as he was let though the gate.

"It is very odd. They have been asking specifically for people who wear gloves. Maybe they think the monster is in disguise. Romani heard that last night."

"Romani!" Cremia's voice cut sharply. "Get back over here, I need your help with the customers!"

"Wait, you heard what?" Ty asked her.

Looking apologetically over at her sister, Romani lowered her voice even further. "Romani stayed up last night and heard the guards talking while they closed the gate. They are only saying it was a burglar so the Festival doesn't get cancelled."

"Romani!"

"Coming! You be careful, okay? And tell Grasshopper I said hello!"

They said their goodbyes to the sisters, and headed off. The stopped near the entrance to the Laundry Pool, all five kids going into a huddle.

"Well, I doubt that Sond or Tim left town, otherwise they'd be caught in that little rabble." Kat said as everyone nodded.

"An' even if Tim had gone through," Ty added, "They'd have stopped him. Gloves, right? An' he isn't about to take his off…"

"Okay, so they're still in town. But can we really believe what Romani says? She's a bit of a paranoia freak," Chiron said. "Remember 'Them?'"

Nick sat down, picking at the bottoms of his boots with his finger. "She'm were righ' 'bout that," he reminded them.

"Yeah, but we know how rumors have got a way of going crazy around here." Chiron reminded him. "You don' think they actually know what's going on-"

"I know what's really going on!" a voice squeaked behind them.

Jim, the leader of the Bombers Gang, leaned against the wall, licking a sucker with a smug expression. The sucker was enormous and must have been at least 10 inches in diameter. He gave it a final lick, and spoke again.

"Ain't a burglar like everyone says," Jim boasted. "It's Wolfos. Tried ta eat me last night, but I wasn't scared!" Jim puffed out his chest. "An' then Captain Viscen gave me this for bein' so brave and tol' me not to tell anyone what I saw."

"You just told us," Kafei pointed out.

Jim went rigid. "Er, forget what I said, then!" The young boy marched off with his chest out, nearly tripping twice before disappearing back into the crowd.

All five stared after him, wearing confused expressions.

"Uh." Kafei blinked.

"What's up?" Ty raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing, just trying to break the silence, that's all," Kafei scratched his ear. "Anybody else find that kid's story kind of far fetched?"

"Well, he does kind of exaggerate," Kat added uneasily.

"Still…" Ty looked thoughtful. "If he says was attacked by Wolfos, why are they searching for _people_-"

"-wearing gloves," Chiron added on quietly.

All five stared at the ground, unable to meet each other's eyes. Apparently the quintet had all come to the same general conclusion at the same time. Nick stood up busily and brushed himself off.

"Guess th' _lobo_'s out o' th' bag." He chewed his lip nervously. "Or summthin'."

**-;O;-**

Even as Nick was speaking, Sond, Timbre and Tejina were still asleep. Tejina groaned and rolled over as a loud knocking came at the door. It knocked a second time, and she forced her heavy eyelids open.

"Uhg…" she sat up, still not fully awake. Rubbing her eyes, she yelled crankily, "Go away!"

The knocking only became more persistent. "This is the Clock Town Guard, on official business. Open the door immediately, please!"

"Fine…" The girl struggled up onto her feet. Her hand was halfway to the doorknob when her senses finally caught up with her body. _Wait a second_, she thought. _Did they say, Clock Town Guard?_

"Oh crud…" Tejina chewed her lip. Looking over to the cot, she was surprised to see that Kei and Ana had already left. The only other living things in the room besides her were the three on the floor, three counting the fairy.

"Open up, I say!" The knocking almost became pounding.

Sond was woken up by the noise. "…purple…" she grumbled, sitting up groggily. "Tell 'em to go away," she said to Tejina. Tael woke up as well, though he gave no comment.

"I would," Tejina hissed back in a whisper, "But they'd break the door down first."

"Ugh," Sond fell back onto her pillow. "Guess you should let 'em in. Who is it?"

"That's the problem," Tejina whispered as Tael joined her at the door. "It's the Guard."

"Uh-oh…" Tael whispered, hovering over to the peephole. "Did they track us here?"

"How could they?" Sond sat up again as the pounding continued. "And what do we do?"

"We need to hide, get out of here, _something_. Timbre, wake up!" Tejina hissed. Timbre, however, showed no signs of moving.

"I wasn't the one being chased last night," Sond offered. "I could always stall, while you two hid or something."

"Maybe," Tejina said softly, as the door was pounded again. "Timbre, wake up!" She hissed again, sounding urgent. Tael flew over to the sleeping boy and pried one of his eyes open.

"_Ack_!" Tael yelped as an ornery gloved hand flattened him to the floor. Timbre continued to be unresponsive.

Stress was beginning to make Tejina hands shake. "_Timbre wake up!"_ She snarled, chucking her pillow at him.

"Ow!" Timbre sat up angrily. "Hey, what was that fo-"

"Shuuush!" Tael struggled and managed to hold the boy's mouth shut. "Listen, and just nod when you agree. The Clock Town Guard is outside this door, an' they're gonna break the door down if someone doesn't answer it right now. So Sond's gonna do that, and you and Tee have to pull a disappearing act, okay?"

Timbre nodded, slipping into his coat. His eyes flickered towards the window.

Tejina caught the idea. "Go out the window? But it's rather a long drop…"

"Well, I dropped from this Inn's roof yesterday, and I'm still alive," Timbre retorted, pulling Tael off his face. "And besides, I'd take the drop over the Guard right about now."

"Okay, fine…" Tejina opened the window fully. A fine breeze flowed into the room from the outside, and Timbre climbed up onto the windowsill. Tejina followed his example as the door was pounded again. The window's view opened into a narrow alleyway. Directly below them, a canvas awning flapped gently.

"We'll drop onto that."

"Will it hold us?"

Timbre shrugged. "Better than just hitting the ground. It'll have to do. Okay Sond, open the door."

The next moment, they both jumped.


	10. Chapter 10

An Act to Follow — Part 10 — There's nothing wrong with us that a little pie won't fix!

Timbre and Tejina probably should have followed the old proverb, 'look before you leap.' However, desperation makes fool of the wisest sage. Neither of these were their thoughts as they both plummeted out of the window without a second look.

They hit the angled canvas awning that had been erected in the side alley beneath their window. They bounced several times, and for a moment, it looked like it was going to hold.

Then the structure suddenly gave way, and they found themselves entangled in folds of heavy canvas as the awning collapsed in a clatter of dust.

"Well," Timbre remarked as soon as he regained his breath, "That was fun."

Tejina blinked, then laughed hoarsely. "Yeah?"

"Well, _no_! I was being sarcasti-whoa!" Timbre was interrupted as the pile of canvas they had landed on suddenly moved and bulged. In fact, it did more then just that.

"What in the name of Din's fiery lower tresses do you think you're doing, landing on me like that?!" Timbre toppled onto the ground with a whoop, closely followed by Tejina as the figure trapped beneath the canvas berated them, struggling to stand.

Moments later, the canvas parted and a disgruntled blue-eyed Hylian stared bemusedly at them. Link slowly disentangled himself, brushed himself off, and readjusted the large metal shield strapped to his back. Timbre noticed he'd also brought his sword with him.

"Link?" Timbre blinked.

"Yeah, what's it to yo-" The boy in green turned around and stopped as he recognized them. "Oh. You two. What, did you fall asleep on the roof or something?"

As the Hylian spoke, Tatl emerged, disgruntled, from his cap. "What's the big idea, tossing me around like that?!" She hovered angrily in front of Link's nose, who waved her away distractedly.

"Don't blame me, blame them, they're the ones who fell on me. Good thing I was wearing my shield, or I'd have been squashed flat!"

Timbre smiled weakly. "Sorry."

Link nodded. "So where've you been, Timbe?"

Timbre rolled his eyes as Link got his name wrong intentionally. "You don't want to know, honestly."

Tejina however, wasn't listening to either of them. She was busying herself by staring up at the window they had just dropped out of. After a minute, she looked back at them.

"I think we'd better get out of here, Tim. We made a pretty loud crash falling down here. What if they decide to look out the window?"

Timbre blinked. "Right! We need to find some place nobody ever bothers to go to!"

Link was slightly confused. "Gotta find what for why?"

Tejina gave the Hylian an exasperated look. She'd learned how from Ana, although she wasn't quite as good at it. "We'll explain later, Mr. Hero. Do you know of any place out of the way?"

Tatl decided to be helpful. "Well, there's the observatory-"

"We tried that already, bad idea."

The Hylian looked thoughtful. "Okay then, how about that little hideout in the Laundry Pool, behind the Curiosity Shop? Remember, when Kafei's brother. was hiding from his girlf-hey Timbe, wait up!"

Timbre was already hurrying away towards South Clock Town, with Tejina close behind. Link jogged to catch up with them, but Timbre just stared ahead, looking annoyed, as the three of them fought through the morning crowd.

"You know that's not really my name, so either get it right or get lost."

"Heheh, he's extra grumpy this morning," Tatl smirked.

Tejina looked quizzically at Link as he caught up. "Why _are_ you calling him that, anyway?"

Link shrugged at her. "'Cause it annoys him."

"Hey, no fair, that's _my_ job!" Tatl whined.

Tejina hid a small smile. Tatl and Link's personalities seemed to fit rather well. After a moment, she remarked, "Well, you're _both_ doing a marvelous job of it."

"Humph!" Timbre's back grumbled.

Link ignored that, and instead looked pointedly at the girl. "So, why are you two so in such a hurry, anyhow?"

"Well," said Tejina awkwardly, "To start, let's just say Timbre and I have a lot in common…"

**-;O;-**

Sond yawned loudly, and checked over her shoulder. They were definitely gone, the curtains waving cheerily through an empty window. Breathing out, she turned the doorknob and opened the door a crack. Sticking her head out, she blinked owlishly.

"Mwhassi?" she grumbled, acting as though she'd just woken up. This was easy, since this was nearly the case.

Captain Viscen and Veneer headed the group, with two junior Guards behind them. Four pairs of eyes stared at the small girl, and Veneer grunted in annoyance.

Sond smirked impishly at the man, though she found him kind of frightening. "Hey there, sirs. I think you have the wrong room."

Veneer growled, but Viscen ignored him.

"Miss, we're looking for Keisou and Ana Meimu, who are renting this room. Are you with them?"

"Yes!" Sond blurted, before she'd even thought out the question.

"So you are…Tejina, then…" Viscen said, looking at his copy of the Inn's register, and Sond nodded slowly, stuck for it. _Anything to give those two time to get away_. Veneer scowled deeply as his eyes flickered down to her ungloved hands.

"So where are they, then?" Veneer scowled.

Sond shrugged. "I dunno, they were gone when I woke up. And I only woke up when you knocked on the door. Um…maybe I could find them for you?" Sond trailed off, wishing she hadn't said the last part.

Viscen looked perplexed for a moment, then nodded. "Perhaps that would be helpful. Veneer, what do you think?"

Veneer was suspicious. He'd wanted to talk to any and all of the traveling performers that had arrived for the Festival. He'd been told that this particular traveling threesome had arrived in Clock Town the same day the crate incident had occurred, and that their first performance had ended right around the time the Captain had discovered the broken crate. Viscen had initially objected, saying he was jumping to too many conclusions. However, Veneer's gut instinct was often correct, and that instinct was saying there was a connection. So he nodded at Viscen. "Aye."

Sond quickly threaded out of the room, firmly shutting the door behind her. No need for them to see the open window, after all! "I'll find them quickly!" With that she hurried down the stairs, still aware of Veneer's eyes watching her.

She quickly swooped down the main staircase, while the innkeeper Anju looked on. Moments later, with a great deal of clanking, the Captain, Veneer, and their two juniors descended the staircase as well. Anju's eyes lit up. "Hello, Captain."

"Good morning, Anju. Busy today?"

Anju sighed. "Not really. Not too many customers stopping for breakfast. You want anything while you're here?"

Veneer rolled his eyes, impatient to continue his search, but Viscen pointedly ignored him. "I guess we could stop for a while…" Veneer scowled, and was about to have several choice words with the Captain when a loud crash from the kitchen startled everyone.

A cloud of thick black smoke immediately followed the crash.

A blonde boy, apparently the cook, who was coughing as he ran stumbling from the kitchen, followed the smoke. His flight was stopped suddenly as ran, blinded, into Veneer. Sitting down hard, he groaned, covered in a great deal of black soot.

"Breakfast may be late," he said as casually as the situation would allow. Then he sneezed.

Anju frowned. "And they said _my_ cooking was bad…"

"Well, if we could actually get a stove that didn't belch up black soot every hour…" The blonde youth picked himself up off the floor, mumbled a sour 'sorry' to Veneer, and walked off back into the kitchen, supposedly to clean himself off. After a moment, the boy's voice broke through to the lobby, raised an alarmed octave. "Oh no! The eggs're on fire!"

Viscen raised an eyebrow at the trail of smoke, still curling from the doorway. "On second thought, maybe we'll skip breakfast…"

Veneer was still grumbling, however, and didn't respond to Viscen. "Where's that girl got to?"

They looked around, but Sond had completely vanished during the commotion.

Veneer cursed under his breath. "Brats! The children in your town have absolutely no respect, do they Viscen?"

Viscen raised an eyebrow. "And what brought this on?"

Veneer thumbed over his shoulder. "These kids. All kids. They keep getting in my way for some reason. This morning it's that kid, last night it was that wailing brat, and yesterday it was some boy in an overcoat."

The last statement seemed to jog something in Viscen's memory. "When was that?"

"Yesterday, right before you and I first met up. Why?"

"It's funny you mention it. Who was it I saw that night in a coat…those two witnesses in East Clock Town, one of them…ah, what did that boy you ran into look like?"

Veneer snorted. "You losing your touch, Captain?" He smirked as the insult managed to gain a withering glare from the Captain. Veneer stopped baiting him a moment and humored the question. "The boy? I dunno, short, spiky black hair-"

"-and wearing black gloves." Both men finished the statement at the same time.

Veneer looked suddenly surprised, then triumphant. "I believe we've found our next lead, Viscen." With that he strode out of the Inn, not looking back.

The Captain looked from Anju, who shrugged, to the two junior Guards, who also shrugged. Worried about what the man might do on his own, Viscen hurried out the door after him.

"What a weird guy," Anju remarked.

**-;O;-**

Viscen caught up to Veneer in front of the Clock Tower stage. He instructed his two juniors to stand by as he hurried over to the hunter, muttering in low tones. "Now Veneer, let's not jump to more conclusions, this could all be a strange coincide-"

Veneer glared. "I'd rather jump to a conclusion than lose the trail. There's always room for apologies."

"Veneer-"

"Now, do you remember what I said last night? It's a juvenile, so-"

"You…you don't honestly think-"

"Well, these beasts don't just suddenly appear fully grown, Viscen. You hired me to do this job for you. You aren't getting cold feet now, are you?"

"You're talking about using brutal force on a _child_, Veneer. I have a duty to protect the innocent. Now, what exactly are you planning to do about this…new inkling of yours?"

"Easy, next time you, I, or any of your guard see that kid, detain and question him, that's all."

"And if you're correct?"

"Well then, my job will be done, won't it?"

"Slaying a child-"

"Slaying a _beast_, Viscen."

Viscen slammed his spearbutt furiously upon the cobblestones. "I will not have you do anything…anything _lethal_, until you have brought me absolute proof, do you hear me?"

"Viscen-"

"Did you not understand me, Veneer? I will see it _alive_ first, or you are not paid. Capture it, and _then_ I shall determine the course of action."

Veneer growled, grinding his teeth together.

"So, can I stop my Guards from patting down every poor gate traveler, then?"

"No. Not until we've got something." Veneer stuck his jaw out as Viscen scowled. What Veneer really wanted at the moment was for Viscen to get out of his hair. "Tell you what, Viscen. If it makes you happy, go find that girl and those performers we were looking for and ask them what they know. If you find anything more concrete, I won't have to investigate other leads."

Viscen did not stop scowling. "Very well, Veneer. I do hope something good comes of all of this, it is quickly getting out of hand." The Captain turned to his two companions, who saluted and then marched away towards North Clock Town.

Veneer's eyebrows furrowed. "We'll see," he spat bitterly.

**-;O;-**

Link coughed. "It's dusty in here, apparently nobody's been here for a while."

Tejina waved away several dust motes with her ungloved hand as she stepped inside from the brightness of the Laundry Pool. "Kafei's big brother stayed in here?" she asked Link.

"Yeah, remember when we were telling you about the Skull Kid and Majora's Mask? Well, Kafei's older brother found himself on the wrong side of a youthening curse. It was _bizarre_, he and Kafei looked nearly identical. Anyhow, he hid out in here. Everyone thought he'd gotten cold feet right before his wedding, but he was in here all the time. See, look over there."

Tatl hovered over to a small hole in the side of the small area. "This peephole gives a spy's eye view of the Curiosity Shop. He was watching for that thief, Sakon-"

"Why?" Tejina asked.

"Well, it's a long story, but he'd stolen an important engagement mask from Big Kafei. I'm glad the Guard caught him last night," Timbre cut in. Had it really only been last night? It felt so long ago. So much had happened since then, it was hard to contemplate. "Well, might as well make ourselves comfortable…"

"Do you think the guards would search this place?" Tejina asked.

Link shrugged. "Doubt it. Like I said, nobody ever comes in here. It's falling apart, for one. Kafei says it belongs to the city and used to be a storage area, but it's too out of the way for anyone to really bother with it." He stood up, brushing himself off importantly. "Well, I need to go find everyone, I'll let them know where you are so they don't worry."

Timbre slumped against the wall. "Yeah, do that." He groaned. "I can't figure out it I'm more tired or more hungry at the moment. Too bad we couldn't have caught breakfast at the Inn…and considering I've dealt with Anju's cooking before, that's saying something. I'm _ravenous_."

"You're _always_ hungry," Link pointed out. "I'd be worried if you weren't."

"And Link, if you see Kei or Ana, tell them where I've gone, alright?" Tejina sat down against an old crate, sniffing because of the dust.

"Okay."

"And bring back some food!" Came Timbre's voice.

"Will do. Have fun, Timbe!" And with that the Hylian and Tatl left, the door shutting behind them with a dull thud.

"My name's…not Timbe…" Timbre groaned, shaking a half-hearted fist in the direction of the door. Closing his eyes, he let the back of his head bang against the wall several times. "Ugh. What a mess."

"Sorry."

Timbre opened one green eye irritably and glanced at Tejina. "Why are you apologizing?"

Tejina shrugged gloomily. "Dunno."

The eye closed again. "Then don't."

"You know what? Tatl's right."

"What?"

"You _are_ a grump."

"Baah." Timbre turned the other way. "Don't talk right now, I'm trying to sleep."

Tejina shrugged, and stared through the peephole curiously. Behind her, Timbre twitched, trying to fall back asleep. He fidgeted for almost a half-hour, changing positions 3 times a minute, until he finally gave up the idea. "This is great," he moaned. "Now I _can't_ sleep."

Tejina kept staring though the peephole, one eye shut. "I could've told you that."

Timbre untied his headband, then retied it out of sheer boredom. "I hope they do come back with some food soon…I'm starving."

"Exactly."

"What?"

"I've always found it hard to sleep on an empty stomach. And since you're not exactly comfortable, either, of course you're not gonna be able to sleep." She said in that slightly matter of fact voice. Backing away from the peephole, she sighed. "Nothing going on in that store, either. Everyone's outside."

Timbre let his mind wander. If he hadn't been fool enough to go snooping, none of this would have happened, and he might be out there right now, having fun with the rest of his friends, instead of stuck in a dusty old closet with Tejina, whose company was already beginning to agitate him. He idly wished that he had a pack of playing cards, a book, _anything_ to make the time go faster.

Tejina was looking similarly bored. She looked up suddenly. "Hey Timbre."

"What?"

"Make conversation." She ordered.

"Why should I?"

"'Cause maybe then we won't be sitting here bored out of our minds."

Timbre wasn't sure what time it was now, but he was certain not too much time had passed by since Link had left. "Uh, okay. Um…" His eyes roved around, trying to think of something to say. He wasn't very successful. "Uh, it sure is dusty in here," he finally mumbled.

Tejina rolled her eyes. "Sheesh. No, something that'll spark conversation, not babbling. Like this: So, Tim, where are you from?"

Timbre frowned. So _that_ was it. She was being nosy. So he decided to play stupid. Maybe she'd get off-track and change the subject. "Uh, who said I wasn't from here?"

"Well, your friends said so yesterday, for one. And besides, you don't look like a local. You don't wear the same clothing, and your accent is different. Also, the local humans are Hylians, they've got pointed ears, like mine." She pointed at hers, as if he hadn't noticed them. "And yours aren't," she added.

Self-consciously, Timbre pulled at one rounded ear. "Well…"

"So, if you're not from Clock Town, where are you from?"

Timbre turned away. "It doesn't matter."

"What's your family like? You said your mother died-"

"I _really don't want to talk about it_," he said pointedly, and then he suddenly turned the tables. "So where did Kei and Ana find you? Where are _you _from?"

Tejina chewed her lip, surprised by the reversal. "Er, well…"

"What?"

"Well, they don't know."

Timbre raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Just that." Tejina shrugged. "They found me shut in a basket, for sale amongst some other items in a traveling merchant's caravan. No other pups, just me. Alone. Kei's told me, but he's pretty vague about it."

Timbre suddenly recalled her slightly awkward syntax when speaking in lupine. She really _hadn't_ had much opportunity to speak it before. "And you have no memories of anything before then?"

"Everything before Kei and Ana is just kind of…blank. All Kei says is that it was probably for the best. That's all."

"Oh." There was a pause. "Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

Timbre shrugged. "Don't know."

Tejina smiled sadly. "Then don't, okay?"

Timbre looked slightly stricken, with nothing to say in reply.

"You couldn't have known."

They both looked awkwardly away, then the girl suddenly spoke up again.

"Is that hunter right?"

"Hm?"

"I wonder, is Veneer right? Are wolves bad?"

Timbre glanced over at her. She looked very pensive. "Well," he said slowly, "are _humans_ bad? There's some awful ones like Sakon and Veneer, but then again there's good ones like Kei and Ana-"

"And your friends."

"Yeah, they're alright too," he said fondly. "But what I mean is, we're the same way. Nobody's inherently bad or good, it all depends on how you choose to be."

"How you choose to be," she echoed his words. "So you choose to stick with those friends of yours."

"Hmm? Well, yes. To be honest, I wouldn't have gotten far without them."

Tejina sighed. "Sometimes I can't help but feel like no matter how much the world moves, I'll always be – ugh, there's no _words_ for this - stuck on the outside looking in. It makes me feel sad and angry at the same time. Do you know what I mean?"

Timbre looked blank, but Tejina continued, frowning. "To be honest, Tim, I'm quite jealous of you. You have some very true friends, and you've done some amazing things with them. I mean, to go on an adventure like that…"

"It's not nearly as fun as it sounds."

"You are just so, so…_lucky_, to have friends like that…"

Timbre said nothing, his head turned towards the opposite wall. Tejina, feeling slightly disappointed, decided not to press the subject. Five minutes passed.

Tejina was secretly glad she didn't own a watch, because if she had, she would've been glancing at it every half-minute. As it was, she was currently fidgeting with her hair. It just didn't feel…_natural_ to sit around doing nothing. Desperately, she yawned. Looking over at her companion, she noticed he'd finally managed to nod off.

"Not a bad idea," she murmured vaguely, nodding off herself.

**-;O;-**

Sond slid along the Stock Pot Inn's westernmost wall, where the building was sandwiched closely with the Eastern District boundary wall. Slipping into the alley, she looked around. "Guys?"

The remnants of the canvas awning lay in a pitiful heap. None of the structural supports had snapped, but the whole thing had somehow collapsed. It was almost like something had fallen onto it.

Or perhaps a few things had dropped onto it out of a second story window…

Sure enough, when she looked up, she could see the window, still wide open.

"Well, that's a good thing, I suppose," she muttered to herself. "But where have they gone?"

The alleyway was a wall at one end, meaning that they could have only exited the way she herself had entered. But where had they gone to afterwards?

Sond ticked off some of the more obvious locations in her mind, trying to think which Timbre would likely consider. He'd said they'd unsuccessfully tried the Observatory last night, so that was out…

She was idly slipping out of the alleyway with the idea of North Clock Town firmly in her head when a sudden hand on her shoulder made her jump and squeak in surprise. Resisting the urge to start madly swinging at her unknown assailant, she instead turned her head.

"Ah, Miss! There you are!"

The girl looked up to see Captain Viscen and his two juniors, their armor glinting merrily in the morning sun.

"Ah, h-hello," she stammered sheepishly.

"Must have lost you in that commotion at the Inn. Would you be so kind as to take us to your brother and his wife?"

"Uh…of course, sir," Sond said helplessly.

"Very good! Lead on."

Sond fell into step with the three soldiers behind her, hoping feverishly that she would not be able to find Kei and Ana in the ever-bustling crowd.

**-;O;-**

"Hey, check this out!"

Kat waved, excited, pointing to a poster plastered up behind a booth in South Clock Town. It was advertising the talent show scheduled for that night.

"There's separate contests for kids and for adults. Oh _botheration_, the age line is fifteen. Looks like we're stuck in the kids' group."

"Ah, easier com'tition, eh?" Nick tried to put a good spin on it.

"Yeah, but the kids' group prize isn't as high. Let's see here…'Contestants can enter as a group or individually, prize money is 200 rupees for a single winner, 100 each if part of a group,'" Kat read aloud. "Sign up early for best times. Late entries may be accepted if time allows. First act scheduled at seven thirty at night."

"Hey," Ty said, "We haven't even thought about what we'll be doing yet, have we?"

"I figured a song," Kat said, shrugging. "We're pretty good playing as a group. Lots of practice."

Nick shrugged. "Do'en't matter t'me anyway. Can' sing."

"Same here," Kafei added.

"Oh we'll think about that when we're all together. When we find Sond and everyone else, we'll work something out. I'm signing us up now though." Stepping up to the booth, she had a short conversation with the Zora woman taking names. After a moment, she walked back to the group.

"Ten rupees each to enter," she said, holding out a hand.

Ty rummaged in his pocket. "Uh, some of our entrants aren't here yet. How many of us together is this gonna be?"

"Uh, counting everyone…Eighty?"

"Well…" Ty groaned. Kat, Chiron, Nick, and Ty all rummaged in their pockets. "Uh, all I've got is a blue rupee and an old Deku Nut."

"Nuthin' here, sorry…" Nick shrugged.

"I've got twenty," Chiron said after a moment.

"And I've got ten," Kat said. "That's…thirty-five. We need forty-five still…"

Kafei cleared his throat. "I've got a hundred."

"So that's a hundred and thirty-five altogether. Eighty for the contest, and forty five for lunch! Thanks Kafei!" Kat looked triumphant.

"But…well…uh…you're welcome." Kafei shrugged.

As Kat returned to the booth to sign the group up, Link (with Tatl grumbling under his hat) arrived, looking out of breath.

"Well look who's up. Did Fairy Boy get enough sleep, or does he need another nap?" Ty said in falsetto, as he battered his eyelids.

"Stuff it for a moment, Ty." Link scowled, lowering his voice so that only they could hear him. "I found Timbre. He's hiding out in that secret area behind the Curiosity Shop."

Chiron raised an eyebrow. "This wouldn't have anything to do with-"

"Th' searches at th' gates?" Nick looked thoughtful.

"That's not even the half of it." The Hylian pulled them all into a huddle and proceeded to quickly and quietly tell them the story.

Finally, Ty chewed his lip, fidgeting with his tail. "Sounds pretty bad."

Kat walked up. "Well, we're all signed up, and…why's everyone looking like they're at a funeral?"

After they told her as well, she remarked, "Hmm, that is a problem. What's this 'Veneer' look like, anyway?"

"Kind of tall, a bit unshaven, fur-lined tunic, generally unpleasant air-"

"Li' tha' guy?" Nick said from the ground. He was picking the dirt out of his boots with his fingers again.

"Which guy?" Tatl re-emerged from Link's cap.

"Tha' guy." Nick pointed towards the Clock Tower and the stage. Leaning against the stage was Captain Viscen and a tall, slightly unshaven man wearing a fur-lined tunic.

"Wow." Kat said. "I think that might be him, he's there with Viscen and everything-"

Veneer's face suddenly turned towards them, and everyone quickly looked away.

"Definitely him," Kat said, shuddering. "Scary guy."

"I think I'd be hiding too," Tatl agreed. "So now what?"

Chiron shrugged. "We still haven't found Sond, yet. _And _it's nearly lunchtime, and we haven't eaten yet."

That jogged Link's memory. "That's right. Timbe asked that we bring him some food. I don't think he's eaten since yesterday."

"Poor little guy," Kat said sympathically. "What if we go get lunch, bring it to the Laundry Pool, then go look for Sond? And while we're at it, we can figure out what we're going to perform tonight."

There wasn't too much argument, as there wasn't much use in just sitting around.

**-;O;-**

"Excuse me sir, but you're going to have to be searched."

Kasumi halted in his tracks, halfway across the Clock Town's Northern Gate. Ty's brother raised a gray eyebrow at the Guard, who shrugged apologetically.

"Sorry, Captain's orders." His voice lapsed into a monotone as if delivering an official statement: "All persons entering or leaving Clock Town must be searched before being allowed to enter or leave."

Kasumi sighed in resignation. He suffered the two Guards' prodding with a neutral air. _Why are they doing this?_ he wondered idly, staring upwards at a cloud in the sky. _Since when do they pat down every traveler like this?_ Finally the first Guard asked him another question "You wearing gloves, sir?"

Kasumi wordlessly held up his hands, which were ungloved.

"Good," the first Guard seemed almost relieved. "Don't have to administer the eye test, then…I swear Viscen's losing it, ever since a few days ago…" The Guard shook his head. "I hate this stupid job sometimes."

"Hmm," Kas said casually, speaking for the first time. " May I go through now?"

"What? Oh…right, go ahead," the first Guard said, waving him away distractedly.

"Thank you, sir." The caped man walked away into North Clock Town without another word. Halting in front of a tree, he paused. It was rather nice and green here, and excellent place for quiet sitting. However, Kasumi preferred the Laundry Pool, as it had a water feature. After another moment's contemplation, Kasumi breathed in deeply, and pointed his walk towards South Clock Town.

**-;O;-**

Tejina woke up suddenly. It could have been because Timbre had snored loudly, but she wasn't too sure. Sitting up, the young girl yawned and stretched. Momentarily disoriented, she looked around with half-lidded eyes before the events of the past day finally hit her. She was hiding in the dusty old room behind the Curiosity Shop. Also, she was hungry. She idly poked her stomach, trying to stop it from complaining. No use there.

Timbre snored again, and rolled over, mumbling something that sounded like 'demon horses.' Tejina frowned. As far as she was concerned, Timbre was a frustratingly complete enigma. The fact that he was a wolf like herself just made it worse. She still knew next to nothing about him. He'd even unceremoniously shot her down when she'd tried flat out _asking_ him about his past, which just made her even more frustrated.

Tejina looked guiltily over at her companion. He'd changed forms in his sleep, and entangled himself in his overcoat in the process. How many times had Kei chided her for doing the same thing? Was it a normal thing for their kind, or not?

There were just so many things she didn't understand about herself, and being confronted with someone who might have some answers for her was almost like torture. She had so many things she desperately wanted to ask him, yet was too terrified to, lest she look even more the fool. Or worse-

Last night, when he'd gotten truly angry with her, his words had _hurt_ like teeth at her throat. Even the memory of those intensely angry green eyes made her feel so utterly dismalthat she choked a little; if Veneer hadn't arrived when he did, she likely would have ran. Mere terror of the hunter's scent had kept her rooted to the spot then, nothing more.

_And he still helped_, she thought guiltily. _He could have left me there to be caught in the open, but he made sure I got away too_. She knew she should have just left him to his own after their joint revelation on the roof, but some visceral part of her furiously demanded she challenge this magpie-colored boy at every opportunity, despite how wretched it might make her feel later. Maybe she just _needed_ to know what she was; just to see that she wasn't totally _alone_ in this world-

A knock at the door made her jump suddenly. Last time someone had knocked, she'd ended up running for her life. Her hands instinctively curled into fists, and she looked pensively at the door.

"Hey!" Thud thud. "Open up, it's Link, and everyone else!" The noise made Timbre jump up. He stumbled awkwardly, encumbered by the overcoat, and then slowly wriggled out of it.

"What?" He yawned.

"You told him to bring food, remember?"

"Oh yeah…" Timbre stumbled towards the door, but it opened before he could reach it. Daylight flooded in, and the wolf blinked back in the sudden glare. He quickly stepped to the side as his friends, laden with what appeared to be piles of paper packages, piled into the small room.

"Hey Tejina! How have you been?" Kat said, nearly tripping over Timbre's overcoat as she set down several of the bundles. They were wrapped in brown parchment, somewhat semicircular, and about ten inches wide and half again as tall.

"Uh, okay, I guess…" Tejina looked confused. "Is _all_ of that stuff your lunches?"

"Oh goodness no!" Kat smiled, and thumbed back at Nick, Ty, Chiron, Kafei, and Link, who were similarly laden down. "They've got the rest of it!"

Timbre sniffed the air, and his tail wagged appreciatively.

Ty grinned at him. "It was cheaper to buy in bulk."

Nick nodded. "Sinc' we're so many, 'ee gave us a big disc'ont!"

Tejina nodded a fraction. "Makes sense."

Timbre was suddenly human again. He was still sniffing the air. "Smells pretty good. What did you get?"

All of the newcomers exchanged looks, and grinned. "Pie!"

"It was the only thing we could all agree on," Chiron explained.

Ty agreed. "We might argue about a lot of stuff, but everyone likes pie, because it comes in so many varieties."

Kat started opening packages, each of which smelled delicious. "Yeah, we got warm ones: vegetable, beefsteak, potato…plus some cold: rhubarb, honeyed apple, blueberry…and coconut crème…plus the pasties…" She went off and listed half a dozen other varieties. "Uh, you guys might wanna dig in before it gets soggy…"

Nobody really needed a second bidding anyways, as they were all quite hungry.

As they ate, Tejina explained her role in the previous days' events. As the friends quickly took her story and nature in stride, the girl's shy grinning soon became a genuine smile.

"You'm gotta realize," Nick told her casually, "We 'en weirded out an'more. We'n dealin' wi' stranger n' summat as _lobos._"

Tejina still wasn't quite used to Nick's accent, so she became very confused. "Summat as _what_?"

"_Lobos_. You'n Tim, aye?"

"It's a Volcanian term," Ty explained to her. "_Lobo _isa word for folks like Tim and yourself, you see?"

"Ah," Tejina said brightly. "So it's your word for wolf."

Ty shook his head. "Not quite. _Lobo _means a shapeshifter."

"Wolfs ain' th' only _lobos_, if'n ye get th' drift," Nick added wryly.

"Ah," Tejina said, a bit weakly this time.

"So, Kat, any ideas yet?" Kafei asked suddenly.

Kat stared upwards. "For a song? Not yet. I'll ask Sond, she's always got the good ideas."

"Uh…" Timbre looked slightly lost. "What?"

"A song, for the talent show going on tonight," Kafei clarified.

"Really? Oh wow, that'll be ne-oh wait. I can't go, right?" Timbre swallowed the last of his beefsteak pie guiltily.

"Yeah," Kat agreed quietly, with a little glance in Kafei's direction. "They're always next year, though."

Timbre just shrugged gloomily, as if he weren't sure if he'd be around then.

"So Tee," Kat asked suddenly to change the subject, "What's it like, traveling everywhere and doing performances?"

"It's quite interesting," Tejina replied with a slight smile. "I get to see lots of places and meet lots of people. It's kind of sad to have to move on all the time, but, well, it isn't like I'll never be coming back."

"Heh, sounds a lot like what we do," Link said, grinning.

Tejina asked, "What about you guys, then? What do you get up to now that you're not, y'know, saving the world and stuff? Why didn't you go back to Hyrule?"

It was Link's turn to stammer slightly. "Er, we aren't doing much really, and glad of it."

"After my brother got married, my Mom offered to let everyone stay for a while, and well, to be honest, we felt like we deserved the break," Kafei said.

"Also that portal to Hyrule's Lost Woods underneath Clock Town hasn't been active since we first came through it," Chiron said, shrugging. "So it's not like we could go back anyway."

Timbre sighed. "Too bad. It would've been a fast way to get out of here, that's for sure…"

"Ain' fer lack've trying," Nick said soothingly. "An' I like Term'na, any'ow. Bit cold, tho'."

There were a few snickers.

Link finally asked, "So, have you and Tim been chatting it up? Like, comparing notes about good hunting techniques and stuff? Or how to get rid of fleas? What do wolves talk to each other about, anyway?"

"Erm," Tejina stammered, looking shy.

Timbre just looked sulky and uncomfortable.

"_Link_," Kat admonished softly.

"What? I just figured they'd have a lot in common to talk about. Anyhow, isn't it about time we go find Sond?"

"Yeah, and my brother too!" Tatl piped up.

"We saw Tael a bunch of times last night," Timbre said, brightening a little. "He's with Sond, they were both at the Inn with us last night. I could help-" He offered, standing up.

Kat poked Timbre firmly in the forehead, causing him to overbalance and sit back down. "You aren't going anywhere right now."

Timbre glowered at her.

Kat sighed. "_Please_ don't look at me like that, Tim. You know it's for the best. And it's not like you'll be alone, you've got Tee to talk to."

Timbre made no comment.

"We'll come back and bring dinner with us. And we'll leave the food here, alright? If you get hungry before then, you'll have plenty to eat."

As everyone said their goodbyes and left, Ty called over his shoulder, "Have fun."

"Yeah, really…" Timbre slumped down again, chin in hands as the door clicked shut. Tapping one foot against the other, he groaned. "Great, now I'm _really_ fidgety."

Tejina shrugged as she idly munched a blueberry turnover. "Well so am I. Just accept it, we're likely in here for a while, so you might as well get used to it."

"How long is a 'while,' though?" Timbre retorted fretfully. "What if nothing changes after the Festival, what if Veneer doesn't leave? Then what?"

"Well then," Tejina shrugged. "We'll have to find some way out. Maybe the Observatory after it reopens. Maybe that portal they were talking about. Or maybe we could try climbing over the walls."

Timbre snorted. "Yeah right, and maybe we'll sprout wings and fly away while we're at it. I _hate_ feeling so stuck, about as much as I hate being stuck in here with you."

Tejina inhaled sharply.

Timbre corrected himself…"Uh, well…that came out badly."

She didn't reply.

"It's jus-" He was quickly flushing. "I didn't mean I hated _you_…I just hate being shut in places, that's all…It's not _natural_." When he didn't immediately get a response, he stood up. "That's it. I don't care what they say, I'm getting out of here before I go insane!" He stumbled over to the door, and clutched the doorknob.

It rattled, but wouldn't open.

Timbre swore.

Tejina looked up, alarmed out of her mood. "What's wrong now?"

"They _locked the door_!" Timbre said, wilting.

**-;O;-**

Halfway across Clock Town, Kafei whistled innocently as a small brass key swung about his index finger.


	11. Chapter 11

An Act to Follow — Part 11 — We've got Cabin Fever!

Ana gave Sond a quizzical look as the young girl suddenly ran up to and then behind her. Although she immediately recognized her from the previous night, Ana was perplexed as to why the girl should suddenly use her as a refuge. Ana's answer came quite suddenly in the form of several members of the Guard, flanking their Captain.

"Greetings," Viscen said airily. "I've been looking for you."

Keisou, who was standing next to his wife, looked confused. "Us?"

"Indeed," Viscen replied, his eyes moving to the pair of eyes peering from behind Ana's billowing dress. "This would be Tejina, I presume?"

"Tee? Well sir uh-" Kei was suddenly cut off by Sond, who was making wild hand motions at him. He raised an eyebrow at this strange behavior.

"Yes?" Viscen either was extremely patient, or just not very attentive.

Kei squinted. Sond inclined her head towards Viscen, then pointed to herself. As she pantomimed, a violet glow ball detached itself from behind Sond's head and hovered behind the back of Kei's head, out of sight of the guards.

Fluttering his wings in agitation, the fairy hissed urgently in Keisou's pointed ear. "_You need to pretend she's your sister for now. Just trust me on this one."_

"Aye sir, that's her." he answered the Captain, shrugging.

Viscen nodded. "I could've sworn her hair was blue before…so you dye your hair?"

Kei's eyes widened. "Yes, well, it does looks better when we match, see?" He forced a smile, indicating his own blue shock of hair.

The Captain grinned. "I was amazed at that show of yours, sir. Was able to catch some of it before the- well, before I was called off to investigate something." He peered at Sond and tried a halfway decent smile. "No need to be shy, Tejina. I'm not that terrifying, am I?"

Sond kept up the pretense of shyness, chewing her lip and refusing to move. Ana, who had caught on, shrugged and quickly changed the subject.

"What did you need to see us about, sir?"

"Well, technically it wasn't me who was specifically looking for you. A colleague of mine-" Viscen's voice strained a little at the word 'colleague'-"wished to ask you about your knowledge of a certain incident which occurred right after your performance two nights ago."

Keisou blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Following your performance, someone trespassed into the off limits area of East Clock Town and knocked over a large crate, causing some damage to a merchant's goods. I wondered, since you were backstage, if you might have seen anybody suspicious lurking around beforehand."

"Hmm…how do you know it wasn't just an accident?"

"Well…" Viscen started. "Can't give out the details, but we _know_ it wasn't an accident. Mr. Chatrail wanted me to-"

Ana and Kei exchanged a startled glance. "Chatrail?"

"Yes, Veneer Chatrail. Heard of him, have you?"

"Yes," Keisou said shortly. "As to what happened that night, we don't recall anybody else backstage. We stayed on stage for an encore, and our act ran a bit late. If someone was lurking back there, we would've been too busy with our performance to see."

"I thought as much," Viscen sighed. "I apologize for detaining you from your day, last day and all. I suppose you will be leaving town after today?"

Kei nodded, trying to look nonchalant. "We've got a show in Labrynna next, Captain. Can't keep them waiting too long, can we?"

Viscen blinked. "I suppose not. Well, you three enjoy the Festival and all," he said, wearily. "I still have some duties to attend to. Good day to you."

Bowing, Viscen melted into the mid-afternoon crowd, flanked by his juniors. Ana, Kei, and Sond watched them go in silence. Nothing was said for a while, until Kei flickered an annoyed look at Tael, who was still buzzing by his ear.

"Hey, you mind not doing that? You're like a mosquito."

"Sorry…" Tael mumbled, retreating behind Sond's shoulder.

"Now," Ana turned and fixed a firm gaze at the young girl. "What exactly is going on?"

Sond chewed her lip and took a step backwards. "M'sorry, ma'am! We ran into a little trouble this morning, and now Tee's gone off into hiding 'cause the Clock Town Guard's after her 'n Timbre."

Kei raised an eyebrow. "What? What the Guard want with two little kids- wait…" Kei's eyes met with Ana's for a moment. "You don't think that…accident…was Tee, do you?"

"It wasn't her. It was Timbre…he's a — well…uh, what I mean is…oh he didn't mean any harm!" Sond looked frustrated. "And now this guy named Veneer's after him, and Tee too, and then he and the guards came to your room this morning and they thought I was Tee and then Tee and Tim had to jump out the window to escape and… it's just awful, that's all!" She stared down at the ground, too upset to look up.

Kei scowled. "So your friend is the one Veneer's after…is he the one I caught chasin' Tee? Little guy? Long coat, black hair?"

Ana nodded to Kei. "Him and Tee…have a lot in common," she said carefully.

Kei blinked. "I see." Bending down to look at Sond, he posed a question. "So where are they now?"

"I don't know!" Sond wailed, looking even more distressed. "They went out the window, and I had to stall Viscen and the others, I didn't see which way they went. I'm sorr-"

"Sond!" Several voices rang out at once.

"There you are!" Kat shouted, looking relieved.

Tatl zinged over to her brother and collided with him in what appeared to be a tackle hug. "We've been lookin' everywhere for you!" Tatl screamed. "Where you been?"

"We've been a little bit busy," Tael explained.

Sond blinked. "Tael and I were keepin' away from th' Captain and the guards, sorry if I've worried you."

Ana sighed a little. "Now that you're all here…"

"I found Tim and Tee," Link blurted, remembering his promise.

"More like they landed on you," Tatl murmured, and Link shot her a warning glance.

"Anyways…Tee asked me to tell you where she was and that she was safe and everything." Looking confidentially about, he then leaned in towards the two adults. "They're by the Laundry Pool in that old storage room."

"Is it a safe place?"

"Safest I could think of," Link replied. "Nice cozy little spot, they could hole up in there for days if need be."

"One problem there," said Kei. "I'm not worried about them being found. I'm worried about them getting _out_ and into more trouble. How long do you honestly think they'll want to stay cooped in one place? I know Tejina's attention span is rather short and all-"

"I wouldn't worry about that too much," Kafei smirked. "You see, I have the key to th' place, and I locked the door. They aren't going anywhere for a while. They have no choice but to sit tight."

Ana looked thoughtful, though doubtful. "I suppose cabin fever is better than the alternative…how secure is this place?"

"I take it you heard about that Veneer guy, then," Kat said darkly.

"Unfortunately, yes." Ana sighed. "We've run into his, er, _family_ before. There are…issues. They generally feel that everything that isn't humanoid is malevolent."

Ty chewed his lip. "What if he's convinced Captain Viscen the same? Tim and Tee could be in real trouble."

"At leas' everyone's safe, tho…'ee mi' jus' take off, y'know, if he don' fin' them again…" Nick said.

"Again?" Ana and Kei looked startled.

Sond was still staring at the ground. "Uh, yeah, last night they were spotted by a kid…caused a ruckus and a half. That's why I was with them, we had to disappear 'em pretty quick."

Ana and Kei sighed in unison. "And we thought she could stay out of trouble this once…"

"Guess we should've warned you," Link grinned. "Trouble follows us like fleas on a dog, if you'll pardon the expression."

**-;O;-**

Kasumi yawned, as if bored. To the casual observer it might appear that the caped Volcanian was merely dozing, leaning nonchalantly against the wall directly to the left of the entrance to the Laundry Pool. But Kas, being the observant being that he was, was far from asleep.

He'd been watching for Captain Viscen for at least an hour so far, but his search has so far been fruitless, but he wasn't exactly ready to give up yet. He was about to restart his search, when a voice stopped him. The voice had a certain edge to it that was slightly uneasy.

"Get me Viscen."

One of Kasumi's eyes opened slightly, catlike.

"R-right away, sir!"

The man who had spoken to the frightened Guard was none other than Veneer. With a sigh, Kas crossed his arms, as if still asleep. Minutes passed, and finally the harsh voice spoke up again.

"Greetings, Captain."

Viscen didn't seem in that good of a mood. "I found those performers you were looking for," he said shortly.

"And?"

"Nothing, Veneer! Nothing at all! None of them are even wearing gloves. Your hunches, your _ideas_ are all turning out to be dead ends, wild goose chases, and rumors. And I've had it. Veneer, if you do not make any progress by midnight tonight I will dismiss you from my services. Is that clear?"

Kas had to force himself not to react.

For once, Veneer seemed taken aback. "Calm yourself, Captain. You wouldn't want to do anything rash. What if your dismissal directly precedes an attack? It would be most…unfortunate, wouldn't it? And I cannot hold myself responsible if that's the case."

"Is that a threat, Veneer?" Viscen's brow furrowed, and his armor glinted furiously in the afternoon sun.

But Veneer was already walking away. "I still have a lead, and when I find that kid, you'll see just how wrong you were."

_That kid._ Only Kasumi's sheer will stopped him from reacting. _Still, _he reassured himself,_ if they haven't found him yet, that probably means he's hiding somewhere. That's fortunate._ With that revelation, he was able to relax slightly.

Viscen glared at the retreating hunter. "One more day, Veneer." As he turned to walk away, the corner of the Captain's eye caught the image of a dark-skinned young man with gray hair leaning nearby. He completed a full pivot before his stomach suddenly gave a lurch. _The witness! From that night, he'd know the kid's name!_ Turning quickly around, Viscen squinted.

The wall was empty. Whoever had been there moments ago was gone.

"This job must be getting to me," Viscen mumbled to himself, turning away again. "I'm starting to see things."

**-;O;-**

"Would you stop pacing already, Timbre?!"

Tejina's voice was beginning to become hoarse from exasperation, and she felt about ready to pull her hair out. Or better yet, _his_.

Four steps forward. Pivot 180 degrees. Four steps back. Pivot. Four steps forward. Pivot. Four steps ba-

"_Timbre_!"

"What?!" The boy snarled, looking up from the floor finally.

"Just…_stop_, okay? Please. Your fidgeting around is not going to help in the slightest. Besides," she added, "you're making _me_ fidget."

"Fine," Timbre slumped down in the corner, staring at the floor. Being locked in was absolutely torturous, and from the looks of it, Tejina wasn't faring much better. Staying human at the moment was imperative, otherwise he'd be scratching madly at the door until his paws bled. There wasn't any pie left, that had already been anxiously devoured. Not that he was really hungry at the moment, but it would've taken his mind off that infernal door.

"They had better come back soon," he muttered between gritted teeth, suppressing the urge to bite something. "It's bad enough we're in here at all, but hearing about that talent show-"

"Why do you care about that?" Tejina asked him, staring sullenly at the floor.

"Well…er, it would've been fun to sing in it." Timbre admitted ruefully.

Tejina looked up in surprise. "I didn't know you sang. It doesn't seem like it would be your kind of thing."

"My name didn't give you a clue? But yeah…" Timbre confessed. ""Everybody…we've sometimes performed as a group, you see…well, they play instruments, some of 'em sing too, but I don't play an instrument."

"…so they're going to compete tonight?"

"Yeah. Wonder what they'll do?" Timbre stared at the ground. "Wish I could go too, but they're not gonna let me."

"Well, think about it…a big stage at night…a big crowd, everyone staring and watching?"

"What, you think I'd get stage fright?"

Tejina inclined her head as Timbre continued his verbal thought-process.

"…but of course all the guards would be there, and if any of them stopped us…"

"That," said Tejina resolutely, "Is the exact reason that they don't want you competing. Veneer will likely be there; if he found you out he'd have your head on a pike."

"I guess you're right," Timbre said grudgingly, playing with a loose strand of hair. "But I'm still angry that I can't at least _watch_." With that, he stood up and started pacing again, as Tejina made an exasperated noise behind him. In mid-stride, however, he got sick of pacing.

"Argh! Stupid door!" Timbre charged the offending object and proceeded to take out some frustration on it. He hit the door several times, then as an afterthought, banged his head against it, causing it to only thud dully. "Ow."

"Like that will help any." Tejina closed her eyes and stretched. "It didn't the last time, either," she added cynically.

But Timbre wasn't listening. He'd found a knothole, allowing him a limited view outside.

"Oh _jubilation_," his companion muttered. "Are you finally going to quiet down and sit still?"

Timbre didn't retort. The hole was low enough that he had to be on hands and knees to peer out of it. The view was limited, of course, but it was better than nothing. He squinted through the knothole, and was able to just catch the glare of the sun off of the Laundry Pool's liquid surface. A few blades of grass waved temptingly in the wind beside a small stone bridge that ran across the water. Nobody was around, obviously, except maybe a few frogs. But even as Timbre thought that, a man came into view.

"Kas?" Timbre blurted suddenly.

Tejina opened one eye, not so much due to Timbre's exclamation, but due to a sound from the wall. Ignoring her fellow captive, she quickly got up and wandered over to the opposite peephole, the one that opened into the Curiosity Shop. True to her intuition, there was movement inside.

"Kas! In here!" Timbre exclaimed, as outside he watched Kasumi sit down cross-legged at the edge of the pond, staring at something close to the ground. He struck the door with a dull thud.

"Shush!" Tejina hissed urgently, a lump quickly forming in her throat. "Someone's moving inside the Curiosity Shop, dummy! They'll hear you!"

**-;O;-**

Veneer had indeed stepped inside the Curiosity Shop. Pushing his way through the door with its dirty glass window, he squinted. The entire shop was lit by a single lamp, keeping it rather dark. In one corner, a large vulture-like bird crouched grouchily, one of its wings tied with a bandage.

"Go away, I'm closed for the Festival." said a man's voice from behind the caged counter, back turned to Veneer. "Come back later, alright?"

"I need to ask you a few questions," Veneer started, totally ignoring the man's command. The hunter scratched his bristly chin and looked about. It looked to be a typical city pawnshop, no doubt full of the pawnings of petty thieves, unscrupulous traders and desperate citizens. But Veneer also knew such places often sold information.

"Hold yore horses, then," The owner of the Curiosity Shop muttered, as he finished polishing a bronze plate, which he set back up on its shelf with a snort. In the corner, the bird squawked loudly. "Aye, I'll feed ye in a moment, Takkuri." Turning around, he looked up at his customer and sniffed. "Alright, what'd you want?"

"Just looking for some information. You get kids in here?"

"Heh, not too often, unless Takkuri managed to filch- er, _find_ something of theirs. But he's been injured, someone got him in th' wing last week." He paused, as if interested. "Why you ask?"

Veneer leaned on the counter with a creak. "I'm investigating with the Clock Town Guard. They're looking for a certain child, male, short, black hair, black gloves, wears an overcoat-"

The Curiosity Shop owner smirked. "There's lots of 'em, you know, kids…"

Veneer blinked. "You sound as if you know who I'm talking about."

"Maybe I do and maybe I don't. My memory's a little rusty, I kid you not," the man grinned messily from behind his sunglasses. "Of course, a Rupee or two could help…aid it."

Veneer as about to suggest a punch on the jaw as a good memory enhancer when a dull thud from the back wall caused several nearby metal shields to rattle. Takkuri squawked in agitation.

"Argh." The shop owner rolled his eyes.

"What was that?" Veneer quirked an eyebrow.

"There's a storage shed on th' other side of this building. Usually it's empty, but I guess someone's messing around. Probably those carpenters."

A second barrage of dull thuds followed the first after the man's simple statement.

**-;O;-**

Tejina glared at Timbre from her side of the peephole. "Would you shut up, honestly? It's Veneer in there, and he can probably hear you!"

Timbre was too intent on escaping to care, however. "Kas, come on! Over here!" He rammed his shoulder repeatedly against the door, each blow making a dull thud that shook the walls. But either Kas wasn't listening or simply chose not to respond. He was still staring at something near the water's edge with a small unreadable expression playing on his face. "Kas!"

Tejina had had enough. She climbed down from the peephole. "Look, if you don't shut up in about two seconds, I'm going to _make_ you be quiet!"

The pounding suddenly stopped. Tejina turned around. Timbre had changed forms and was disentangling himself from his overcoat, which he hadn't bothered to take off first. He was making a quiet whining sound in the back of his throat, which the girl recognized in dismay.

Timbre was going to howl, because _that_ would certainly get Kas's attention.

And Veneer's.

"_Don't. You. Dare_," she hissed.

Timbre threw back his head, and-

**-;O;-**

Both Veneer and the Curiosity Shop owner stared at the back wall as the loud pounding noises turned into a sudden ruckus. The suit of armor set up against the wall rattled ominously, and several items fell noisily from the shelf. Then, as suddenly as it had started, the disturbance quieted. Dust motes gently floated to the floor. The bird ruffled its feathers irritably.

The Curiosity Show owner scowled. "That whole place is falling down. I'm surprised it's not been condemned yet, actually."

"Squawk!" Takkuri looked disgruntled.

"Ayeh, you'd think this bird had been mortally wounded, or something!" The shop owner threw his hands in the air. "Alright, I'll feed you…" Tripping over an old trunk, the shop owner pulled a dead rat from somewhere behind the counter and threw it over his shoulder. The bird neatly caught the rodent. "Now, about this kid…"

Shrugging, Veneer flipped a blue rupee onto the counter. "Talk."

"Yeah, I've seen that brat before. Hangs around with the Mayor's younger son and a whole bunch of other kids, he's been around the festival a bit. Las' time I saw that him was yesterday morning, was running down to the Laundry Pool. An' that's all I know. For a fiver, anyway…"

"Next question. Did you see anything going on along this street two nights past?"

"Eh? What's that?"

Another blue rupee fell onto the counter.

"Ah. Well, I wasn't here that night of course," the man winked, scratching his armpit. "But while I wasn't here that night, I thought I heard something scratching about outside. This part of town gets mighty creepy at night, I kid you not! Later on I hear a loud crash, and then the Guard shows up." The Curiosity Shop owner stooped to gather the items that had fallen.

"Where did you get that?" Veneer suddenly asked, pointing at a purple object in the man's arms.

"Ah, this?" The Curiosity Shop owner held up an intricate glass lens shaped like a stylized eye. "Well, Takkuri brings things into the shop on occasion, he brought this in about a month and a half ago. Do you like it? I did some research, and I think it may be one of the tools of the Sheikah. You're familiar with them, right?"

"The Hylian Shadow Folk, yeah."

"This lens is purported to allow you to 'see the truth.' In practical terms, that means it shows you magical auras."

"Hmm."

"Fascinating, isn't it? You'll never look at people the same way again, I kid you not! You can learn a lot of things from someone's aura…"

"Indeed."

"But to be honest, it gives me more of a headache than it's worth. Never been one for the magic, myself."

Veneer had also had never put much stake in the magical arts, being more at ease at relying on his own two hands for results. However, he _had_ read of the properties of Sheikah lenses. Auras could reveal invisible items, concealed magics, and-

_A wolf in human form, _he thought suddenly. In theory, an object such as this it would help his investigation immensely, if it were real…

"How are you sure it isn't fake?"

"I've tried it out. Try it yourself if you want," the man shrugged, fumbling in the back with some other objects that had fallen. Takkuri squawked, having finished his rat.

Veneer accepted the man's offer, unbuckling his hunting knife. Its edge was silver, so if it worked, the lens would pick up on its natural aura. As the hunter held the lens up to his right eye, he was momentarily disoriented by the distortion of the glass eye. After a moment's adjustment, he turned his gaze through the lens towards his knife. At first, he saw little difference. As he concentrated however, he noticed a faint halo of energy surrounding the blade slowly coming into clarity. It was hard to understand exactly why, but that aura was distinctively 'silver.'

He looked up at the shop owner, who was now surrounded by a golden quality that somehow signified 'Hylian.' The gold was further speckled with a few dark motes that gave Veneer the inkling that the man knew he was not entirely guiltless in his business practices.

_Could've deduced that myself, but it least it proves the lens is working_…

Disengaging the lens, Vener blinked and grimaced as he felt a faint ache from behind his eye.

"Heh, you do have to watch how much you use it. Gives you one monstrous headache if you use it too long. Skilled magic users can do some pretty impressive stuff with them, though."

"…how much?"

"Mmm, well since you seem like a decent guy, I'll give it to you cheap. Two hundred rupees."

"That's _cheap_?"

"It's magical, ain't just fancy glass. I kid you not."

"One hundred." Veneer countered.

"One sixty." Takkuri crunched down messily on another rat as the Curiosity Shop man tossed it over his shoulder.

"One forty."

"One fifty, and that's my last offer."

"Done." Veneer wasn't a fan of spending Rupees so freely, but this lens would prove to be an invaluable tool in his search. And subsequent searches…

"Anything else I can do you for?"

"That will do." Veneer said, passing the Rupees over the counter. Although he wasn't too disturbed by the crunching from the bird's corner, but he was more than glad to be out of the shady Curiosity Shop. Besides, now he had an excuse to leave: he needed to contemplate his new acquisition. It also wouldn't hurt to discover why the back room of the Laundry Pool was so noisy.

After all, that had been the last place he'd seen that kid…

**-;O;-**

Kasumi had, until the moment that Veneer entered the Laundry Pool, been in a very intellectual conversation with a frog on the meaning of the universe. The young man looked up from the frog's croaking speech, and held a cautionary finger to his lips.

_Veneer. The man who is after something he both does and doesn't understand_. Kasumi sighed, shaking his head. He'd heard the pounding coming from the door to the storage shed, and faintly had heard Timbre's voice.

His brother Ty and his friends had encountered him on their way through town and had briefly told him the latest goings on. They had told him that they'd intentionally locked Timbre in to keep him away from the hunter, and Kasumi agreed with their sentiment. It wasn't that he didn't trust his brother's friend, but he _was_ still young. Being locked in a room temporarily was a much better outcome than death; a necessary difficulty that the wolf would have to live with. Kas had instead focused on what the frog had to say.

Veneer looked around, his eyes settling on the door. He walked around the Laundry Pool's circumference and past the grass and flowers. He was striding very purposefully towards the door, Kas's eyes widened slightly. Veneer's hand was feet from the doorknob. Inches…

"It's locked," Kasumi said suddenly.

Veneer jerked and spun around to face the gray-haired man. "Where did you come from?" he demanded.

Kasumi shrugged mellowly. "I've been sitting here for a while," he said finally.

Veneer sniffed. "I see." Then suddenly, he thumbed back at the door. "What's in there?"

"Dust. Rats. It is very run down, locked up, and has been empty for years. Some say it is haunted. It is a private property of the Mayor, off-limits."

"Really now," Veneer raised an eyebrow, suddenly becoming suspicious of the young gray-haired man in the cape. "And what are you doing here, when there is a Festival going on?"

"Enjoying the weather, and listening."

Veneer approached. "What?"

"Just what I said." The frog croaked, as if on cue. "Listening."

The frog's eyes blinked out of sync as it stared at Veneer with one eye and beyond him with the other.

"We aren't the only living things in this world," Kasumi said, blinking serenely. "Sometimes it pays to listen to others."

"I…I see," Veneer said, locking eyes with the impassive gray eyes of Kasumi. Something about the utterly calm man's gaze profoundly disturbed him. "I suppose…I have business elsewhere then." Veneer left the Laundry Pool, perhaps even more quickly then he had left the Curiosity Shop.

Kasumi didn't say anything to Veneer's retreating back, but the corners of his mouth twitched a little.

**-;O;-**

Tejina glared. "I hope you're happy with yourself, you nearly got us both killed."

Timbre was human and doubled up on the floor, his eyes squashed shut, his face contorted in pain. Tejina was evidently no stranger to roughhousing. Before he'd been able to actually howl, she'd flung herself at him like a sudden thunderstorm. With both her hands wound tightly around his muzzle, he'd fought and scratched ferociously, but she'd fought back, eventually elbowing him heavily in the stomach twice, which had winded him completely.

"If Veneer didn't hear us, in fact, I'd think he was deaf. Nice going."

Timbre gurgled.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"You _bit me_," came the accusing line.

"And I'll do it again if I need to," she threatened. "_What were you thinking?_!"

"I panicked!"

"_Yes you did_. Now, will you promise to stop being such an idiot?"

"_I'm_ the idiot?" Timbre wheezed, sitting up, "_I'm_ not the one who bullied into someone else's business when she wasn't welcome. I'm not the one constantly being an insufferable know-it-all! _I'm_ not the one who can't tell when to leave well alone! But no matter what I do, you just have to keep prodding and staring and pestering…it's a wonder anyone puts up with you at all!"

There was a sudden high tension in the air. For a moment, the two children seemed prepared to fling themselves at each other again. And then-

"Hmph!" Tejina turned away with her noise in the air.

"Hmph!" Timbre followed suit in the opposite direction.

Silence fell.

Tejina felt hurt. She might have come out the victor in the tussle, but she hadn't emerged unscathed. It wasn't just the fact that her arms stung and bled after being scratched from Timbre's claws while wrestling him down. It was what he'd said afterwords that hurt the most; she faced yet again that wretched feeling of utter rejection. Both their reactions in the scuffle had been fueled by sheer instinctual panic; that she understood. Part of her wanted to knock him down again and _make _him understand why she'd stopped him, the other part of her wanted to cry. She fretfully rejected both ideas, and miserably wedged herself into the furthest corner she could find.

Timbre felt hurt. It was mostly the throbbing ache in his stomach, but he was also now housing a pit of resentment that simply wanted _out_. He just wanted her to _stop_ interfering, why was that so hard for her to understand? Both their reactions in the scuffle had been fueled by sheer instinctual panic; that he understood. Part of him wanted to thank her for stopping him, but the other part wanted to wrathfully drive her as far away as it could. He furiously rejected both ideas, and miserably wished he could just understand _why_ she kept tormenting him.

The silence continued all afternoon, and was still going strong when Kat, Kafei, Nick, Chiron, Sond, Kei, Ana, Ty, Kasumi, Link, and the fairies arrived around dinnertime, this time laden with a smorgasbord of food items.

The children had also stopped by the Mayor's residence to retrieve their respective musical instruments. Chiron was now wearing a guitar slung over his shoulder. Sond had brought her hollow wooden flute, made from a branch of the Deku Tree of Hyrule's Kokiri Forest. Kat had a small silver trumpet she had brought from Kakariko Village. Link of course, had the Ocarina of Time.

Kafei and Ty, who didn't have their own instruments, were sharing with Nick, who had brought a trio of small Goron-style drums he'd bought recently.

"You kids in a band?" Kei asked, looking amused.

"We could be," Sond grinned.

"Hmm," Link said suddenly to Timbre. "You've barely even touched dinner."

"M'not hungry," Timbre mumbled.

"That's…odd, coming from you. You two alright?"

"Not really," Tejina admitted, miserably. "Can I go back to the Inn? Please?" She looked up at Kei and Ana pleadingly.

Ana looked slightly severe. "Tejina…"

The girl frowned. "I know, I know…"

"Tomorrow," Ana promised. "I'm still a little concerned about Veneer being around, but from what Mr. Kasumi has told us, he may well be gone by tomorrow."

"Just Kas, please." Kasumi said, quietly.

"You'll just need to wait it out a little bit longer," Ana said gently. "Eat something, you'll feel better."

"So, what have you two been up to all day?" Sond asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Nothing," Timbre said, not looking at Tejina.

"Nothing," said Tejina, not looking at Timbre.

Sond and Kat exchanged a knowing glance. There'd been a fight.

"Look you two-" Sond began.

"There's nothing to talk about," Timbre said seriously, looking her straight in the eye. "Just drop it. Please."

Sond lapsed back into silence. Meanwhile, the boys were having a very animated conversation.

"So then we went back to Honey and Darling's place, and I got a _perfect score_ on their Bombchu bowling circuit!" Link looked pleased with himself. "Didn't miss a single target!"

"Are you sure you didn't cheat?" Chiron asked seriously.

"Of course I didn't!" Link retorted.

"Why do we not believe you?" Kafei responded quietly.

Link was about to answer when Kat suddenly burst out of her otherwise silent thoughts.

"I've got it! I know what song we can sing tonight!"


	12. Chapter 12

An Act to Follow — Part 12 — Last-minute entrants

Chiron looked up sharply at Kat's exclamation. "Really? What song?"

Kat smiled. "I'd just remembered, that Kokiri song about the Lost Woods. Remember that one?"

Sond and Link quickly nodded, but Nick's eyes traveled upwards from his chili bowl, in thought. He attempted to hum a few bars. "Eh, can' ge' th' melody rig' cause I dun sing."

"_Twist and turn, evermore, listen to the song of the sacred woods…_" Timbre sang the first few bars quietly. Several heads turned, and Tejina's eyes flickered wonderingly for a moment.

"Yes! That's the one!" Kat exclaimed.

"And not many people from Termina will have heard it before, so there's less of a chance someone else is already playing it tonight," Sond added, retrieving her flute between bites of her sandwich, noting the lost look on Ty's face. "It's the one with the flute solo and the big drum beat."

"Oh yeah," Ty agreed quietly, nibbling on some cheese. "I like that song."

"I say we go for it…'course we'll be down one voice…" Link trailed off awkwardly, shot a glance at Timbre, and suddenly paid closer attention to his sandwich. "Uh, it might be difficult, but we could do it still."

Kei looked down at his sister. "You still haven't eaten anything."

"M'not hungry," Tejina answered.

Kneeling down, Kei looked concerned. "You're _always_ hungry, Come on, squirt, you need to eat something…are you feeling okay?"

"I'm just fine," the girl replied, not looking it at all as Kei felt her forehead. She refused to move her head at all, staring at the wall, and only flinched marginally when Kei's fingers suddenly ran over the red scratches on her arms.

Ana and Kei looked at each other, concerned. "Look, we know you're upset that you've had to stay in here, but-"

"They _locked the door_," Tejina said, accusingly.

Kei scratched his ear. "Because you two have gotten into enough trouble already. Kafei and his friends did it for your own good. Just a little longer, alright?"

The girl's eyes roved over towards Timbre, who was currently pretending she didn't exist, and she him.

"I…I guess…" Tejina said slowly, her mind working quietly. She idly took a sandwich from Kei.

"We'll, we do have to get practicing…the first act starts at seven-thirty, and it is currently…a little past five…" Kafei said, making use of his pocketwatch. He looked around. "But where we gonna go?"

"Well, the acoustics in here aren't perfect…" Kat murmured, looking around the small shack. "But it'll have to do. Unless we wanna practice out in the open-"

"We'd give our song away!" Ty protested, as he stood to help put the leftovers of dinner out of the way. Behind him, Tejina suddenly jumped up as Kafei struggled with and dropped a fruit basket.

"An' besides, here we already have an audience!" Link said, pointing at Kei, Ana, and Kasumi, who'd remained silent for quite some time.

"Oof!" In the background, Tejina collided with Kafei as they both scrambled to gather the fruit rolling about on the floor.

"Whoops, be careful, alright?" Kafei said.

"Sorry, just trying to help…" Tejina blushed.

"Do y'think they min'?" Nick looked hopeful, undistracted.

"Hey, not at all, right squirt?" Kei grinned, sitting down and pulling Tejina onto his lap as she passed. The girl squeaked in protest, but then giggled a little. Timbre looked up from his corner, brow furrowed. Kasumi just leaned impassively in the back.

"You too Tim, you know our music firsthand, so you can be the critic." Kat called.

"Gee thanks," Timbre grumbled, turning their way. For a moment, he caught Tejina's eyes as she laughed with her brother. Both blinked and looked away quickly.

"Right," Kat said. "Hope we all remember the words. One and a-two, and a…"

**-;O;-**

The owner of the Curiosity Shop held his head as more dust rattled from the roof. Takkuri squawked loudly, flapping its wings and jarring its injury. The disgruntled avian snapped its beak at the nearest object, a cheap vase, and sent it crashing to the floor. The cause of the disturbance was coming from the back of the store:

The Curiosity Shop man groaned as the words to a song rang clearly through the wall. Not that it was _bad_ music, per say, but it was rather eerie.

"Ruddy kids, probably entered that contest tonight," The man grunted, putting things back up on their shelves. "They're certainly making a racket, I kid you not…"

"Squawk!" Takkuri apparently agreed.

**-;O;-**

Tejina could still hear the song in her mind. An hour and a bit had passed since the dinnertime practice session, and everybody had left, leaving her and Timbre back to their uncomfortable silence. She sighed, looking over at him, still reluctant to talk to him, but knowing they simply couldn't leave things how they stood. It had been simple enough to put it off and ignore each other when there were other people to talk to, but without company, the silence was becoming almost solid. The room felt as if it was slowly shrinking, and soon she wouldn't be able to move at all. The very thought of staying silent and immobile for much longer was driving her mad-

"_Stop staring_," Timbre snapped suddenly, and Tejina realized she _had_ been staring at him. His green eyes were intense, nearly glowing with ire despite the fact she wasn't shining any light in them.

"Sorry," she replied, gloomily, quickly looking away. "I didn't-"

"_What is wrong with you_?" Timbre demanded, venomously.

Tejina withered slightly. "That hurt, you know."

"Well it hurt when you nailed me in the stomach, but you didn't really mind that too much, did you?" Timbre snapped.

"I panicked. Veneer was there, and-"

"_Why_."

"What?"

"_Why_ do you keep bothering me? If you have to say anything, at least answer me that much."

"I-I…" She looked over at him, quickly looked away, and bit her lip fretfully. "I don't _know _why, alright? There's…no _words_. I just wanted to get to know you. That's all."

"You can't simply _force_ someone to acknowledge you, no matter how hard you try," Timbre said somewhat bitterly, his eyes hard. "It just brings out the worst in you."

"I didn't mean for it…I just…I can't…look, I'm _sorry_…" Tejina's voice quivered slightly.

"Now don't start crying," Timbre said contemptuously, although he was frowning. "It's…just _don't_," he finished, the bitterness suddenly turning to misery. He stared down at his boots guiltily.

Tejina busily wiped her eyes.

"Besides, you don't want to get to know _me_," Timbre said hoarsely. "I'm _nobody_. I've been nothing but _terrible_ to you."

"You weren't terrible enough to leave me to the hunter," Tejina pointed out quietly. "Thank you, by the way."

Timbre mumbled something and looked away.

"I didn't enjoy hurting you earlier," Tejina added, sniffling. "But if Veneer found us…well, he wouldn't care what it looked like, he'd have killed us both. I _had_ to do something."

Timbre scratched at the back of his head. "I know," he said quietly. "I kind of lost my head back there. We'd have been in big trouble if you hadn't. And I _am_ sorry for scratching and yelling at you for it. You didn't deserve that."

That was the only thing said for a few minutes, leaving instead the self-conscious quiet that always hangs about after a fight has lost its momentum.

"Hey Tejina."

"What?"

"Make conversation," Timbre said awkwardly, and they both laughed timidly.

After she sobered, Tejina asked apprehensively, "May we start over? I mean, put what's happened behind us? No hard feelings?"

Timbre nodded willingly. "Okay. I've had enough of being a jerk. Truce."

"So, now what?" Tejina finally said.

"I dunno," Timbre said quickly.

"Well, I for one feel we need to address the issue of the door," Tejina said.

Her companion twisted his head to one side, confusion in his expression. "Not much to address. It's locked, and we're stuck on the wrong side of it."

"Well, let's say hypothetically, it _wasn't_ locked. Then what would you do?"

"Well, I'd be awfully tempted to leave," Timbre admitted. "Go to the talent competition, see my friends, even if I could only watch. I know, I'm an idiot, but there you are. Why do you ask?"

Tejina fumbled with something in her pocket. "No real reason," she said dubiously.

Timbre frowned. "Hold on. What do you know that I don't?"

"Nothing…"

"Last time I tried that line, you beat it out of me!" Timbre protested.

"No, actually I just stated a fact, and then you verified it," Tejina smirked widely.

"Would you just tell me already?" Timbre said in exasperation, although there was something different about it this time.

"Why?"

"Well, why would you mention anything if you didn't plan to tell?"

"Your logic baffles me. But I suppose…" Tejina was beginning to enjoy this. It wasn't fun to actually fight, but it was fun to pretend to.

"Fine then," Timbre said, crossing his arms, smirking slightly. "Maybe I _don't_ want to know."

Tejina mock-frowned. "Well, if you don't want to know, then too bad for you, I'm telling you anyway."

" Please share. I look eagerly forward to ignoring you."

"Well," Tejina said, trying hard not to smile, "The first trick was finding out who had it. My brother accidentally let that info slip. As for the second trick-"

Tejina flipped something small from her pocket. It was a small key, made of brass. Timbre blinked and looked from it to the door with a slack jaw, and then back at the girl. There was a sudden respect in his eyes.

"But…how? Wh-"

"Well, I'm not exactly sloppy. If someone's distracted it's pretty easy to filch something small, like a key. Or a headband-"

"Ahem."

"Hehe. I did it when Kafei and I were gathering all that fruit," Tejina explained. "Slight of hand comes in handy now and again. The world should be lucky I didn't decide to become a professional pickpocket."

Timbre would have hugged her if he didn't detest such acts of random exuberance. "Well, I guess the problem of the door has just been solved." He grinned. "At least we can watch my friends, _if_ we stay out of sight."

"We?" Tejina looked surprised.

"Aren't you coming too?"

"Well, you want me to?"

"Seems only fair, you got the key after all. Anyhow, if we stay part of the crowd-"

"And human," Tejina added.

"Right," Timbre agreed. "I just wish we could do something more…you know, so we weren't so recognizable…"

"That can be arranged, we've got some stuff stored back at the Inn. Also, I'd leave the overcoat behind if I were you."

"Why?"

"Cause, its kind of obvious and I haven't seen many other people with one. Where did you get that thing from, anyway? And why won't it change with you?"

"A long story…but it isn't important right now," Timbre added, slipping out of the coat. He folded it carefully and tucked it in the corner.

Tejina scrutinized him. He looked a great deal smaller without the coat, small enough to be considered scrawny, especially around the shoulders. He blinked at her, confused, and then accepted the key as she handed it to him. Sucking in a deep breath, he tried it in the lock. It turned, and the all but musical sound of a door's hinges echoed through the stuffy room. Next moment, the door had opened into the twilight, dousing both of them in the cool air of the day's end.

"After you," Timbre genuinely smiled at her for the first time.

**-;O;-**

The stage in front of the Clock Tower was dramatically lit, utilizing the tower that the carpenters had built earlier in the year during the Carnival of Time. The giant mirrored lanterns that had originally been on either side of the stage were now situated upon the structure. This meant they could be focused towards the stage in a beam, creating a spotlight. Shadows danced around as the clock's colorful face slowly rotated. The grounds were nearly completely covered by the crowd; apparently word had gotten around about the show. A nearby poster listed many of the acts to come.

"Aww man," Kat groaned as she stared at said poster. "We're last on the kids' division, right after the Bombers, see?"

"Well, it's better than going first," Ty said sagely. "We'll be fresher in the judges' minds. And following the Bombers…won't be a tough act to follow. It could be a lot worse…"

"Yeah, we'll blow those judges away, an' have our reward money before we can blink twice! Oops, sorry!" Sond had waved her flute in the air exuberantly. In her excitement, she'd accidentally whacked Chiron on the back of the head. Unfortunately this had occurred right when he was tuning his guitar, causing the offended instrument to let out a tuneless twang in protest.

"Ack! Sond!" Chiron chewed his lip, readjusting the offending string. He strummed it a few times, then nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Okay, I'm definitely in tune this time."

"Good," Link said, pocketing his ocarina.

"Aren't _you_ gonna warm up?" Chiron looked confused.

"Warm up? With the sacred relic that is the Ocarina of Time?" Link asked, as if outraged. "This thing's magical, it couldn't play a sour note if I _tried_!"

"Actually…" Tatl piped up suddenly. "Remember that time you missed a high D, and you somehow ended up teleporting twenty feet in the air above the Southern Swamp? What a glorious sound that made, the pitiful wail of a young boy beautifully harmonizing with the unerring SPLAT of said boy hitting the bog below…"

Everyone chortled, remembering that.

Tatl pressed, "I'm just saying, you never know with these magical relics-"

"There's a time when a fairy needs to be seen and not heard," Link said darkly. Tael snickered behind his sister, until he caught the boy's expression. He fell silent rather quickly.

"Just let me see that thing for a second," Tatl offered. "If there's any dirt clogging the mouthpiece…"

"No way, we're gonna be playing soon. You keep you little fairy paws off!" Link warned, cradling the ocarina as if it were made of eggshell.

"Playing soon?" Kat scoffed. "Maybe, if everyone else's songs are two seconds long…"

"Yeah, no 'urries, ri'? We're las', no' firs', y'know…" Nick idly tapped at the drum under his right arm.

Kafei cracked his knuckles. "Well, better safe than sorry. What if people didn't show up and we had to play earlier than we thought? It could happen…Oh great, Dad's up for another one of his speeches again…" Sure enough, Mayor Dotour was making an appearance on the stage.

"Good evening," said the Mayor, coughing.

"And there's Mom…" Kafei groaned.

The stage bowed slightly as Madame Aroma walked onto it. Since her voice carried more, her greeting was much more audible. "Hello everyone! Welcome to the last night of the Midsummer Festival!"

A loud cheer greeted her words.

"Now, as tradition, we end our Festival with a talent show. We have a good dozen acts to get through tonight, so it should prove most entertaining. Our judges this evening…"

Madame Aroma made a great sweep with her hand, gesturing towards the right of the stage. A small raised podium seated three figures.

"First, representing Clock Town's administration, my and Mayor Dotour's son, Kafei Dotour!" Big Kafei grinned a little, waving as the crowd politely applauded.

"Hey, my big brother's a judge?!" Kafei smirked. "This might be easier to win than I thought…"

Kei and Ana walked up, smiling. "You kids ready for your act?"

"Yeah!" Came the chorus of voices.

"Next," Madame Aroma continued, "Representing the Clock Town Guard, none other than Captain Viscen!"

Kat's jaw dropped as the crowd applauded again. "Now I'm really glad that we locked that door, look who's standing behind Viscen…" Sure enough, Veneer's scowl was just visible beyond Viscen's helmet.

Kafei smiled, sticking a hand in his pocket. "Yep, glad I had that key-" He stopped in mid sentence, fumbling wildly.

"…our special guest Tito, manager of the world famous Indigo-Gos!"

The audience cheered passionately, and a few catcalls split the square. Kafei, however, was madly squirming, checking both his pockets. "That's weird…"

"What?" Link blinked. Tatl was about to try and poke the Ocarina of Time when Link idly waved her away. "It's still there, right?"

"Uh…" Kafei's voice didn't sound very optimistic.

"The key's _gone_?"

Kafei nodded. "Just this thing…" He pulled out a small brass-colored object.

Kei squinted. "That's one of Tee's earrings, it was part of her costume the other day."

Chiron raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean that…"

Kei looked furious. "That little brat! She _knows_ she not supposed to steal from people's pockets!"

"…and now she's got…the key…to the door…" Chiron pointed out.

A group consisting of two adults and seven kids hurried with great alacrity in the direction of the Laundry Pool, as behind them the show started to tumultuous cheers.

**-;O;-**

The small room was empty. Kei's voice was livid, and his fists clenched, though even this expression couldn't dull the worried look in his eyes.

"She's gone! They're _both_ gone!"

"Except for Tim's coat, you mean. Check it out." Link lifted the object in question.

"So, they're loose somewhere in the city right now," Chiron started hesitantly.

"Unfortunately," Ana said wearily. "We should have left someone here with them."

Kafei tried his best to put a positive spin on the events. "Well, if they're smart and keep their heads down-"

"Smart? If they'd been smart they would've stayed here." Kat grumbled.

"But if they were clever enough to get out, then I think they're smart enough to be alright," Chiron said. "Hopefully-"

"If th' Vene'r dud' dun fin' 'em, y'mean…" Nick chewed his lip. "Well, there's th' crow'd an' all…it's unlikely, ri'?"

"Yeah, they'll stay human and in the crowd somewhere, so he won't find them…" Link said, sounding like he were trying to convince himself as much as the others. Then he suddenly brightened, as if he'd just had a brilliant idea. He took off his cap and shook it upside down forcefully.

Two irate glowing balls shot out, narrowly missing the floor.

Ignoring the high pitched curses, Link asked them both a favor. "Tatl…and Tael, you too…Timbre and Tejina took off. They're somewhere in Clock Town, problem is, so is that hunter guy."

Tatl said something that sounded like "Razzlesnort."

Ignoring this, Link continued. "So, do you think you could find the terrible two for us? Keep an eye out on them, y'know?"

The yellow glow that was Tatl yawned. "Why should we?"

Tael looked exasperated, if not as sleepy as his sister. "Not very tactful of you, making demands on us poor fairies all the time."

"And since when are you so concerned for Timbre's safety?" Tatl added snidely.

Link scowled. "Come on, this is serious! You _know_ he's our friend! That hunter's around, and well, do you _want_ to see them dead or captured or worse? You two can fly, so you could spot them faster than we can on the ground."

"And if you can't find them, at least try and find my brother," Ty added. "He'll know what to do."

"Oh…alright…" Tatl said grudgingly. "Fuzzy might be a little fleabag, but I guess seeing him as a rug would be kind of gross. And that girl, she's alright too, she doesn't deserve that."

"We'll find 'em, both of 'em." Tael promised. "We'll find 'em in no time!"

"Speaking of time…" Kafei said distractedly, as Tatl and Tael both zoomed out the doorway (Tael with a miniscule salute). "I think that we should get back to the stage, if anything, to find those two…"

Ana frowned. "You're not thinking of missing your act?"

The seven kids fidgeted.

Ana smiled. "In show business, we have a saying: 'The show must go on.'"

Kat fidgeted nervously. "But what about-"

Kei smiled too, though a bit ruefully. "We'll be searching…And you did practice so well. I think you're in good league to win that competition."

Ana nodded at this. "Go ahead. We have another saying in show business as well: break a leg," she said, smiling.

As the children left the Laundry Pool, they gave puzzled looks to one another.

"Break our legs? What good would that do?" Link murmured, chewing a hangnail.

"I could think of a lot of good it would do." Ty said darkly, his eyes slightly narrower than usual.

"Not until after the show, please!" Kat and Sond said together, desperately.

"Yeah, it's a little difficult to perform with your kneecaps ripped off," Chiron added. This gruesome statement rewarded him with several horrified facial expressions from the others.

"Ick, there's something I didn't need to envision..." Kafei looked slightly nauseated.

As they stepped back into South Clock Town, the unmistakable sound of Goron drumming and singing came slowly into existence. Sond grinned, tilting her head to the beat. She'd always taken a liking to Goron music, something about the yelping quality of the stone people's voices was just very appealing.

"Well, mebbe th' competition won' be as easy as w' though' 'twould be…" Nick murmured, leaning against the wall. "'Ope we're tuned."

Kat ticked off on her fingers. "Right, the act before us is supposed to be th' Bombers, right? And _they_ come four acts after these guys're done," she finished. "So there we go."

"That's a lot of talent before us," Chiron said. "We could lose our nerve."

"Lose our nerve? What kind of talk is that? We've never failed at anything once we've put ourselves up to it," Ty said.

"You failed to get revenge on me," Link pointed out, smugly.

"As you may recall," Ty said grinning, "the time limit for that revenge isn't up until tomorrow. You aren't off the hook yet, Fairy Boy."

"Don't call me that! And what're you grinning at?" The boy said hastily.

"Nothing…" Ty replied in a singsong tone of voice. He was now rocking back and forth on his heels, and his eyes were twinkling.

"You know, you're creepy when you grin like that," Chiron pointed out.

"I know…" Ty agreed vaguely, still smiling.

"Wassup, _Kaii_?" Nick added.

"You'll see…" Ty murmured. "You'll see…"

**-;O;-**

The crowd they were mired in was heavy, and fortunately too involved in the Bombers' act to notice two more children. Timbre lifted the dark glasses from in front of his eyes a moment so he could peer properly. A quick trip back to the Stock Pot Inn had gained him and Tejina some new accessories: a pair of dark glasses each, which hid their eyes from any bright lights.

Tejina had explained hastily, when they'd been back at her room in the Inn. "The glasses are for when I do backstage stuff, they're dark so I don't go off advertising someone's fixing the props behind the real performers, you see. Lucky for us I've got a spare. So these glasses-"

"There's nothing wrong with my vision," Timbre had said, annoyed.

"I _know _that, dummy," she had replied, shoving them onto his face so quickly he didn't even have time to flinch. "It's not to help you see, it's to help others not to see _you_. Or your wolfy eyes, anyway. They'll keep the light from reflecting off them, you see? Just in case Veneer or Viscen's being observant."

Timbre had nodded as Tejina donned her own pair.

The sharp dig of his companion elbowing him roughly in the ribs brought Timbre abruptly back to the present.

"Ouch! What?!"

"The act's over, you're supposed to applaud," she reminded him. The act in question had been the Bombers, who had attempted (key word being 'attempted') to sing an acapella version of a sacred song called the Oath to Order.

"If the four giants had heard _that_ coming from the Clock Tower when we battled Skull Kid, I think they would have let the moon drop." Timbre grumbled.

"So, what?" You think you could do better?" Tejina said, raising an eyebrow.

"We _did_ do it a lot better, if you'll recall. I think my friends will win this competition, even without me!" Timbre said.

"Speaking of, there they are now…" Tejina pointed as Timbre's friends emerged onto the stage, light glinting off of their instruments.

Timbre looked just a little wistful as the song began wafting from the stage, sounding just as it had during practice:

"_Twist and turn, evermore, listen to the song of the sacred woods,_

_Forevermore,_

_If you're lost, listen well, and you'll hear the path open up to you,_

_Into the woods…"_

"Hmm," Timbre murmured gloomily.

Tejina sighed as if this disappointed her. "I thought you'd be happy to hear your friends sing."

"Well, I am…It's just…"

"Just what?"

The boy sighed again.

Tejina was about to ask what he meant, but decided to hold her tongue. It wasn't the time for levity.

Timbre struggled to find the right words. "It's just…I haven't felt like this since-" Timbre's face suddenly fell with sudden understanding.

"Tim? What's wrong?"

"…this is what you meant, isn't it?"

"What?"

"You mentioned it earlier, that feeling like the world moves around you, but you 're not a part of it. Like you're on the outside, looking in. It was driving you _mad_, wasn't it? It's why you won't – you _couldn't_ - leave me alone. It's why you were so desperate to be involved, even though your life could be in danger. It's the same reason you stole the key, but waited until we weren't fighting to _use_ it."

Tejina said nothing, even as through the dark glasses, Timbre's stricken eyes met her own. Green stared into blue in wordless acknowledgement.

"You see Kei and Ana as your family, but-"

"Tim-"

"-you've spent your entire life never knowing if you were truly _alone_ in the world or not-"

"Tim-"

"-with concepts and feelings that you just…had no _words_ for-"

Then it hit him. The reason that it was hard to explain was that they'd both been looking for words in the human tongue, and there just weren't any for this. So Timbre spoke instead in lupine, the sound barely audible above the song and roaring crowd, though his eyes made the meaning clear.

The words hit Tejina like a blow to the stomach. Before she could stop herself, she choked back a strangled sob, turning quickly away from him.

Timbre watched her helplessly. "I'm…I'm _sorry_..."

The next thing the startled boy knew, she had spun and thrown her arms about him in a tight embrace, burying her face in his right shoulder. Timbre braced himself awkwardly as he was nearly knocked over in a cloud of rosemary-scented hair.

A moment later, as if suddenly recalling where they were, Tejina pulled herself away. The girl regarded him dolorously, her eyes shining. "I…I…I want to dance," she abruptly demanded.

Before he could make any reply, before he even realized what was happening, she'd grabbed him by both hands. The world flew past in a sudden dizzy blur as she led him along to the wild forest song. The roar and presence of the crowd around them seemed to fade away. A woozy feeling grew in Timbre's gut as they spun wildly, but he forced himself to quiet his complaints. At least he decided he wouldn't protest until the double trails of tears on her cheeks were dry…

Both of them were so absorbed in the moment that they didn't even realize the crowd had begun parting to give them room to dance.

**-;O;-**

Cheers erupted all around the stage as the last strains of the Kokiri melody floated away into the summer evening. Grinning wildly, the kids bowed, Link with a swordsman's flourish (at least until Ty's tail 'accidentally' tripped him up). Walking offstage, they all gabbled excitedly, though they were both warm and exhausted from their efforts.

"That was great!" Kat exclaimed happily. "The crowd _loved_ us!"

"And it was fun, besides…" Sond smirked. "Though we could've gone without that skipped measure in verse three, Link."

"Wasn't my fault, I inhaled a fly!" The Hylian swatted around, frustrated. Nearly falling down, he ambled over to their huddle.

"Yeah, let's find a seat or two, the judges might take a while to decide that we've won," Kafei said confidently. Offstage, they found several crates that were yet out of use.

"Tha' takes a lo' outta yeh, playin' li' tha," Nick said, flopping down with a whoosh.

"Yeah, didn't help with those hot spotlights in our eyes. It was like they were trying to blind and bake us, or something." Chiron flopped similarly, and Kafei leaned, letting out a long sigh.

"Well I for one wasn't bothered by the lights _too_ much," Link bragged, swatting away another fly. "Argh, why aren't these things bugging you guys?!"

"Dunno," Ty said, with an enigmatic smirk. "Maybe they're attracted to your sweet, sugary personality."

"Or not," Link retorted. "Say, where are Tatl and Tael? You'd think they'd found those two by now…Unless they fell asleep on the job."

"They're still looking," said a calm voice behind them.

"Hey Kas," More than half a dozen voices rang in unison.

"How do you know that?" Link half-demanded.

"Because, they found me and I talked with them," Kasumi said patiently, as if all questions had an obvious answer.

"Oh." Ty smirked a little. "They'll be alright, right?" He looked up at his big brother hopefully.

Kas didn't say anything, but that didn't matter much because Link had just sat down.

Normally, a person sitting down wouldn't be such a momentous occasion, but in this case, a small exception was in order. For when the green-clad Hylian sat down, something squelched. Loudly. Link's eyes crossed.

"Ack, what did I just sit in?!"

"Nothing," Chiron said. "There wasn't anything on the crate at all. You just sat down."

Link jumped up quickly, his eyes slightly wide. His gaze traveled slowly back to the seat of his pants, which were now sporting a dark stain of some kind.

Sond and Kat giggled, quickly joined by the rest of the children.

"Oh dear, that _is_ funny…" Kat snickered.

"Did someone have an accident?" Chiron ask, then fell to laughing.

Even Kas seemed to be fighting a smirk from emerging. Link, on the other hand, looked furious.

"This isn't any laughing matter!" He half-shouted, causing several onlookers to glance over in alarm. "These are my only shorts! And now they're wet with…something…eww…" Fishing in his pockets, Link withdrew a mushy bag. "I never had this! What is this stuff? Glop?"

"Smells like lemons," Kafei remarked, giggling.

"Lemon goo'," Nick agreed, sanguinely.

"Lemon gelatin," Ty said matter of factly.

Link turned an angry eye on the boy with the tail. "_You_!"

"Me." Ty said, smiling a bit.

"It was you, wasn't it?!"

"Intelligent, aren't you?" Ty smirked. "Told you I'd get back at you, Fairy Boy. And now that my revenge is complete, I have something to say."

"What's that?" Link said, starting to flush.

"That _lemony-fresh victory is mine_," Ty said, leaning in and looking incredibly pleased with himself.

"So help me I'll strangle you!" Link growled, hands clenching and unclenching.

"Bring it," Ty said calmly.

"Please stop." Kasumi deftly placed himself between the two boys. "Both of you." Both children did so. "Thank you. At the moment there are other things that are more important."

"What could be worse than this?" Link wailed, pointing at his stained shorts.

Kasumi pointed wordlessly at the two glowing lights descending upon the group.

"Hi there!" Tael squeaked.

"We're back." Tatl called. She suddenly sniffed. "Hey, does anybody else smell lemons?"

"Never mind that!" Link snapped. "Did you find them?"

The siblings exchanged a look. "Well…" Tael began.

"We've got good news and bad news…" Tatl added.

"The good news is that we know where they are right now." Tael said.

"Well that's fortunate," Sond said.

"Wait. What's the _bad_ news?" Kat said.

"Uh, that." Tatl said, gesturing towards the stage, where Kafei's father was currently standing.

"Well, originally," Mayor Dotour wheezed, "That was to have been our last for the child competition. However, we have just received word of two last minute entrants. By popular demand, the judges and I have deemed that they be allowed to perform."

"What? But _we_ were the last act!" Chiron cried, indignantly.

"Yeh! Oo'd be crazy enou' t'enter at th' las' min'te?" Nick asked, his eyes wider than usual.

That question really didn't need to be answered: two small figures were herded onto stage, the light glinting brilliantly off of the sunglasses they both were wearing.

"Oh dear," Kat said.

"We tried to stop them," Tael said. "Honestly, but the crowd wouldn't hear any of it. They'd even paid for their entrance fee and everything."

"Wonderful. Why don't they just change forms up there while they're at it?" Kafei grumbled, fortunately at a level that wouldn't be overheard.

"Calm down, everyone." Sond said. "The guards aren't reacting…See, even Veneer's not too interested…" Veneer was still sitting behind Viscen, looking completely bored.

"Well, what can we do?" Chiron said.

"Sit back, watch, and hope for the best. If we interrupt them now it'll draw too much attention."

A chorus of 'ayes' agreed with Kat's statement.

"But I wonder what they got pulled up there for." Kat wondered.

Tejina said something to the Zora band set up in front of the stage. Not many of the acts had yet requested musical accompaniment, so they nodded eager animated agreement at her request.

Within moments, a lively song called 'The Twin Witches' Heelstep' began.

And then…

"Wow," Sond said after a moment. "Timbre's..._dancing_."

There was a second chorus of 'ayes.'

**-;O;-**

Behind Viscen, Veneer yawned.

Viscen was smiling and tapping a foot along to the music. "Oh dear, going to be hard to choose between these kids' acts. I never knew our city's youth had so much talent."

Veneer just rolled his eyes. _Idiot_, he thought to himself. _He's supposed to be here to keep a lookout, instead he's taking this judging thing seriously._ Annoyed, Veneer grunted.

"Enjoying ourselves, are we?" Viscen said, somewhat just to spite the grouchy hunter.

Veneer grunted again. Letting his eyes rove listlessly over the crowd, he let his vision finally rest on the two small figures currently dancing on stage. It was a boy and a girl, though peculiarly the girl seemed to be leading.

Both were wearing dark glasses. Almost as if they wished themselves to be slightly disguised-

"No," Veneer said more to himself than anyone else. "It couldn't be…"

"What's that?" Viscen said sharply.

"Nevermind." Veneer rolled his eyes.

On Viscen's right, one of the judges - the Mayor's older son - chuckled, and then murmured to his wife seated next to him. "I know that boy. He's a friend of my little brother. Odd though, usually that little group of friends of his sticks together like glue. He must've taken a real shine to that illusionist girl."

Something was echoing in Veneer's mind as he overheard.

Hangs around with the Mayor's younger son and a whole bunch of other kids…

Veneer's eyes flickered towards the black-haired boy on stage. He wasn't wearing the overcoat, but that made it easier for Veneer to note something even more interesting.

He was wearing black fingerless _gloves_.

Veneer quietly fumbled in his pockets for the Sheikah lens he'd purchased that afternoon, keenly curious as to what exactly he would see. Holding it up to one eye, he ignored the sudden stab of pain in his forehead and let the disorienting glass focus itself on the dancing children.

At first all he saw was the boy's bright green aura swirling around the girl's blue one. But then, as he focused more intently, he became acutely aware of something that was very odd about both of them. As it focused upon the boy, his shape through the lens was slightly out of focus, and seemed continually in flux with a _second, _ghostlyshape swirling in tandem with his movements. It flickered faintly in and out of existence with his every movement, almost like a fish hovering just below the surface of a still pond.

Or like a wolf hiding under a human skin…

Gently kicking the back of Viscen's chair, Veneer smiled despite his headache as he mumbled softly to himself. "Aha."


	13. Chapter 13

An Act to Follow – Part 13 – Hide and seek isn't as fun when the guy who is 'It' is out for your blood

"Eh?" Viscen craned his head backwards as he felt the kick to his chair. "What's wrong, Veneer?" The Captain had a contented smirk about him that was making the paid hunter's blood slowly boil. The Captain, probably aware of this, only smiled more widely as Veneer looked positively furious.

"Those kids. Up there." Veneer quickly stowed the lens and nodded towards the stage at the two children, whose glasses glared and reflected the bright lights shining upon them. They were still engrossed in their dance, which was quickly garnering cheers from the audience, who appreciated the steps set to the lively tune.

"What about them?" Viscen asked slowly.

"That boy, you fool! Remember, the kid who was one of th' witnesses? We've been looking for him all day! Look!"

Viscen shrugged. "Him?" Squinting, the Captain craned his neck forward. "Oh…yes…you're right…I do believe that _is_ him, now that you mention it…very well, we'll just have a talk with him when the act's done, and then...well then I suppose your job here will be over, won't it Veneer?"

Veneer had to stop himself from whacking the Captain of the Guard upside the head. He was, after all, still on commission, and it was never wise to strike the hand that paid you. "Very well," Veneer gritted between his teeth, as if the idea didn't appeal to him. "You bring them to me when this is over, Captain. Then I'll show you I am right."

"But they're just _children_, Veneer."

"They're vicious beasts, Viscen. Age has little to do with that."

But the Captain ignored Veneer's daunting admonition. "Quite the good dancers, aren't they, Veneer?" Viscen remarked.

Veneer just rolled his eyes.

**-;O;-**

"I can't believe they'd actually be that crazy to actually go up there!" Chiron and Link exclaimed together. Link was looking especially uncomfortable, laden as he was with a gelatin-stained pair of shorts. Whenever he moved his eyes crossed with discomfort.

"Eh, leas' they' doin' well…" Nick said, tapping his foot to the music. "Check ou' tha' spin 'e just did."

Kat and Sond, however, were more concerned watching the judge's table and Veneer. "Guys," Kat said after a moment. "Do you see what Veneer is holding? It's the Lens of Truth."

"How could it be?" Link said. "Those things are super-rare, and we're the only ones who have one-"

"Had," Kafei interjected quietly, turning slightly pink. "Remember a few weeks ago, when that bird-"

"What?!" Link started, but Sond quickly hushed him.

"However it happened, he has it now. And that's a problem."

"Why?"

"Link," Kat said, "the Lens of Truth reveals _hidden_ things and true natures. What do you think Veneer would see if he looked at Timbre through that lens?"

"…oh."

Sond continued, "Point is, we need to get them off that stage immediately, once their act is over. Quietly and quickly, so it doesn't attract attention.""

Ty nodded. "Right. Kas, how do you-"

But Kasumi had disappeared again. Ty looked around for his older brother with a slightly confused expression. His brother had a habit of vanishing suddenly, but during a crisis seemed an unfortunate time for him to choose to do so. Uncurling his tail from around his ankle, Ty stared at his left shoe. "Well, at least we should find Kei and Ana."

"Hey, Tatl…? I'm gonna need some help." Link looked around for the yellow fairy.

"What, need me to fetch you a diaper?" Tatl said wickedly. "Because I think I know where we might fin-"

"Quiet!" The boy in green snapped, unamused. "Tatl, go and find Kei and Ana. _Now_. Tell them to get here quickly! This is really, really important! Go!"

"Uh…right!" Tatl said hesitantly. She was shocked into obedience, partially due to the sharp tone of voice Link was using. She flew off rather quickly.

"Tael, you stay with us," Link ordered. "But if we get split up again, I want you to mark Timbre and _stay with him_, you got that?"

"Y-yes," the purple fairy stammered.

"Boy, something's hit a nerve," Chiron muttered.

"Sometimes I'm just not in the mood to argue," Link admitted.

Kafei chewed his lip. "Speaking of arguing, we'd better think of a plan quickly. They're almost at the end of the song." He hummed merrily along to the tune, trying to drown out his and his friends' growing concern.

**-;O;-**

The last few bars of the song drew to a rousing close. Up on the stage, Tejina slowed their whirling dance to a halt. Instead of letting go of Timbre like she had last time, she simply grasped his hand, and before he could lose his balance, led them both into a stable pose on the last chord.

"Wow," Timbre rasped as he slowly regained his breath. His face felt damp. Peering through the dark glasses, he could make out dozens of cheering and clapping faces as they applauded. He wasn't that much for performing, but even this sight was enough to make him smile a bit.

Tejina laughed openly and bowed and waved to the crowd, and then turned to face him.

"Thank you," she murmured quietly, giving his hand a quick squeeze before releasing her grip.

Timbre didn't know how to reply, but as he looked away he spotted his friends amid the chaos. They were frantically beckoning to them, despite the difficulties considering their size and the disorder of the crowd. The looks on Kat's and Sond's faces told Timbre their waving was not simple praise for their performance.

"Uh-oh…they don't look too happy…" Timbre said sidelong to Tejina nervously. She nodded.

"Let's get out of here quickly," she agreed. Both of them were hurrying down the stairs to stage left when a large, heavy hand suddenly planted itself on both of their shoulders. They both jumped, and in Timbre's case, yelped.

Captain Viscen was standing behind them, his armor clattering gently. He was chuckling warmly, and his face was crinkled in a smile. "You kids were just _fantastic_! Spectacular!"

Tejina was slightly paralyzed with shock, although even if she had squirmed, it wouldn't have done much good. Viscen had quite a firm grip. "Uh, t-thank you sir…" she stammered after a moment.

"You are definitely a contender in this competition!" Viscen boomed. "Er, while you wait for the results, there's a friend of mine that wants to meet you."

_Uh-oh_…"Uh, we're running kind of late, actually, we were supposed to, er-" Timbre stammered, trying and failing to find an excuse.

"Ah, I must insist," Viscen said uncomfortably, steering them both around so they faced the other way. "See, there he is now. Veneer!"

Tejina bit her lip, her eyes wide behind glasses that she hoped were enough to hide her panic as Veneer swiftly loomed over both of them. Viscen's hands felt like lead weights on their shoulders.

"Evening," Veneer said, smiling unpleasantly at the both of them. He was swinging a lantern in his right fist, almost jubilantly. The bright flame flickered merrily with every creaking swing.

Under the roar of the crowd, Timbre thought he could make out the voices of his friends, behind them, fighting the movement of the bustle as they tried to make it to the stage. They might not have seen where they were led off to, or even that Viscen had. _Come on, guys, _he urged them silently. _Catch up with us, drag us away, something!_

"Uh…uh…hello." Timbre managed to stammer despite his rising panic, looking up at Veneer. He was just as large and imposing as he had been the other day when he had accidentally run into the man who smelled of wolf furs. The gleam in Veneer's dark eyes was terrifyingly triumphant. What had he found out, and how?

Now Viscen was steering them further away from the stage through the crowd, down past the judge's booth, towards East Clock Town, where the crowd didn't penetrate. Helplessly the two children were marched resolutely along the deserted avenue, as if on their way to an execution. Timbre was convinced he was definitely in for something along those lines.

_Skinned alive. Or maybe they'll drown me first. _ All that running, all that hiding for the past three days had all been for nothing. He was done for, Tejina too; it was all his fault.

Torn apart. Set on fire. Shot full of arrows…

Tejina averted her gaze, something that the glasses managed to mask well. Feverishly, she wished that somebody, anybody would come and rescue them. She was beginning to sorely regret stealing the key. Why had she ever wanted to do something this crazy in the first place?

_Well, maybe I know why_, she thought, looking sidelong at the captive boy next to her.

As they stopped next to the Milk Bar, Veneer leaned against the wall, smugly at ease. He seemed convinced that he'd already won. Unfortunately, Timbre had to agree with his sentiment. The area was clear of any spectators, which meant anything said here couldn't be overheard.

Viscen's smile faded slightly, and he kneeled so that he was closer to the childrens' eye level, though his hands remained on their shoulders. "I have a few questions for you both. What're your names?"

"Timbre." The boy said dejectedly.

"Tejina." The girl's voice also sounded quite desperate.

Viscen looked vaguely surprised at the little girl's answer. "Miss Tejina? But, we met earlier today! Don't you remember, with your brother and his wife?" He blinked. "You've dyed your hair again, I see…"

"Uh…right…" Tejina said, exchanging a confused glance with Timbre, who shrugged marginally. Viscen didn't seem to notice, either he was very accepting or the glasses were proving effective.

Timbre was dimly aware of the sounds of the revelry far behind them. It sounded as if Mayor Dotour was making another speech in that wobbly voice of his, possibly announcing the next competition. The crowd cheered suddenly, as if they were focusing their attention on the upcoming adult acts. Despite the severity of the situation, Timbre had to wonder a little. _Hope my friends won that competition,_ he thought. _They sounded amazing._

"…anyhow, back to the point. I believe we have also met before, Timbre. Two nights ago…" Viscen's gaze turned somewhat sternly upon the boy.

Timbre swallowed a little, trying hard not to look nervous. "Yes sir," he said truthfully.

Veneer took this opportunity to interject. "Two nights ago there was a trespasser in the alleyway in West Clock Town, a crate was knocked over, and when the guards investigated, they found two people in the area. One of them was you, was it not?"

"It was." Timbre said, staring at the ground, which seemed even darker through the glasses.

"Were you aware," Veneer continued accusingly, "That this was found later at the scene of the crime?" Veneer uncrumpled the scrawled note, which had been residing in his pocket.

Timbre looked from Veneer's face to Viscen's face, unable to say anything, because no matter what he said, it would either be a lie or the truth. Lies he couldn't handle, and the truth…well, the truth would be rather incarcerating on his part.

"So whoever did it was sorry," Tejina said suddenly. "They made a mistake, and they wanted to pay for the mess."

Viscen smiled a little at this. "That is certainly what we'd like to believe, but-"

Veneer shot the Captain a venomous glare. "Aye," he said, not sounding very sincere. "But we still need to know exactly _what_ happened, and more importantly _who it was_."

Again, Timbre said nothing, as he couldn't find any way of talking out of the inevitable accusation. He knew it was coming. He'd heard Veneer talking that night he'd investigated the prints. In fact, he probably would have already caught them if Sond hadn't come in at the last second and distracted the hunter.

Behind them came the muffled roar of the crowd. Apparently the next act was popular, whoever it might be. Veneer, however, continued relentlessly.

"Something about you," Veneer added pointedly, "is very suspicious. You wouldn't happen to _know_ anything, would you?" He grinned again. He was enjoying this immensely, much to Viscen's chagrin.

"Now now Veneer-"

"Captain, it is his duty as a witness to tell us what he knows. If he is innocent than he has nothing to hide." Veneer argued. Then, with whiplike snap of the lantern, he changed the subject, glaring down at Timbre. "Show me your hands."

"Wha-?"

"Show me your hands, boy!" Veneer snapped, ignoring Viscen's frown.

Looking glumly at Tejina, Timbre slowly held out his hands, palm upwards. Veneer smiled a little more, and the lantern stopped swinging.

"You're wearing _gloves_," he said slowly, giving an expectant look to Viscen.

"Yes sir," Timbre said helplessly. _Hanged. Sliced to ribbons. Belly cut open and stuffed full of rocks. This is my fault,_ he thought miserably. _If I hadn't been so stupid…_

Looking at Tejina, he inclined his head slowly. _Go on, run._

Tejina's eyebrows furrowed behind the glasses as she glared back at him. _Not on your life. _

Sighing, Timbre resolved himself to Veneer' condemning voice as the hunter kneeled down, looking him straight in the eye. Blinking furiously behind his glasses, he found himself unable to break away from the steely gaze of the adult.

"Why are you wearing dark glasses at night? I thought they were used to block the glare of sunlight, and it is dark now."

"W-well…it was for the act, you see, an-"

"But the act is over, isn't it?" Veneer didn't smell any better close up than he did from a distance. The boy recoiled instinctively as Veneer's face leered a bit closer.

"Veneer!" Viscen warned. "You're intimidating the witness. That's duress, you know."

Veneer ignored the Captain. "So why are you still wearing them?" Veneer held up the lantern so that it shone directly in the boy's face.

"Well, I-" The glasses, though reflecting a glare, couldn't hide the worried look on Timbre's face. Tejina held her breath, wishing she could do _something_, and feeling infuriatingly unable.

"Take them off, then, if you don't need them any more," Veneer dared, the lantern still swinging in front of his face. Timbre knew if he took the glasses off it would be all over. That light would reflect off his inhuman eyes, and he would be better off dead. But Timbre wasn't about to give up passively.

"I don't want to," he said, sticking out his jaw stubbornly. Veneer snarled at this defiance.

"Don't play the fool, I can see right through you!" He growled, and he pulled a purple object out of his pocket.

"Where did you get that?" Viscen asked in sudden astonishment.

"It's a Sheikah Lens of Truth," Veneer said without looking up, noting the utter shock on Timbre's face. "Ah, I see you're familiar with it, boy. So you know that it reveals hidden things. Reveals…true natures."

Timbre swallowed, his throat dry.

"I fixed it upon you tonight, and now I know what you truly are. You _and_ the girl. Now, I am going to allow you to tell Captain Viscen the truth, or else I will show him myself with this lens."

Timbre closed his eyes. Here it was, then. Admit to the truth boldly and without fear, or cower to the end and be shown for the farce that he was. He took a deep breath.

"Alright. But first, let Tee go. She had _nothing_ to do with any of this."

"You are hardly in the position to make such demands," Veneer growled. "Now tell Viscen the truth or I'll-"

"_Wait_!" Seven voices yelled at once.

Sond materialized suddenly out of the gloom. She ran breathlessly up to Veneer and pointed at the lens clutched in his hand. "You stole that from us, you…_meanie_!" The brown-haired girl glared up at the man, who stared back in disbelieving fury.

"Is this true, Veneer?" Viscen demanded.

"Of course it isn't!" Veneer roared back at him.

There was a clattering of footsteps as the rest of them arrived on the scene. All of them looked out of breath from fighting the crowd.

Veneer stared, vexed, at the new arrivals. "More kids…?" he growled a little.

Wordlessly, the children stood themselves alongside Timbre and Tejina.

"Captain Viscen sir," Kafei started, "before you go any further, may we please say something?"

Veneer was about to reply when Viscen laid a hand on his shoulder. "I want to hear what they have to say, then you may continue your investigation. Until then you will be silent." He looked at Kafei. "What is it, young Mr. Dotour?"

"We think you're both making a big mistake," Kat said carefully.

"You can't just blame our friend like this," Link added.

Viscen shook his head. "Your friend was found in the vicinity of trespassing and vandalism. Had circumstances been different, I would have detained him immediately that night. As it was though-"

"Sir, if I may," Kafei interjected timidly. "Whatever evidence you may have against Timbre, or whatever your colleague may claim about him, we just wanted you to know that he's our friend."

Viscen looked perplexed.

"Yeah," said Link. "And we'll vouch for him."

"All of us," Ty said.

"However, it does not change the fact that he is a suspect," Viscen reminded them gently. "And my colleague here has found some incriminating evidence-"

"-which I would like to get back to presenting," Veneer growled. The Captain shot him a warning glance.

Timbre swallowed hard.

"Very well, Veneer. Show me."

_Even my friends weren't enough_, Timbre thought desperately.

As Veneer triumphantly held the Lens of Truth up to Viscen's eye, Sond subtly nudged Timbre in the side. "_Run_."

"Eh?"

Viscen gasped suddenly at what he saw from behind the lens. "What in the world-"

Sond shoved Timbre roughly away from her. "Kat_! Now_!"

Veneer suddenly looked up. "Don't you dare-"

Kat abruptly threw her open palms towards the ground. The air crackled with sudden heat.

"_Din's Fire!_"

The small magical explosion burst like a miniature fireworks display. Viscen and Veneer recoiled heavily from the sudden bright shockwave, and were immediately dogpiled by seven children. Wheezing, winded, and slightly scorched, the hunter dropped the lens, and Viscen's armor clattered as he too fell over.

Amid the sudden fiery chaos, Timbre and Tejina fled.

**-;O;-**

Sitting on the roof of the Curiosity Shop, Kasumi sighed as below him in the darkness he heard the yells and saw the faint telltale explosion of fire magic. He'd just known something like this would happen, he had felt it coming for the past few days. All feelings of uneasiness aside though, he hoped reverentially that it would be a clear enough night tonight. Glancing up at the sky, he noted few clouds, and lots of stars. Good. He hadn't wanted to have to resort to desperate measures, but if it were a last resort, then he had no choice…

Standing up, Kasumi shook his head, his eyes unusually clear. Bending his knees, he jumped the distance from one thatched roof to the next with no sound. Before his foot had barely touched the thatch, he had already launched himself to the next roof. Nobody would notice him if he kept this up. Well, not _yet_, anyway…

That crowd below would notice him soon enough.

**-;O;-**

Chaos reigned in East Clock Town.

"Are you brats insane!? They're getting away!" Veneer snarled, trying to pull children off his legs and torso so he could stand.

"That's the _point!_" Sond gritted her teeth, as she and Kat pinned the large man's boots to the ground.

"Get off of me!" Veneer snarled again, "You don't know what you are doing!"

Timbre and Tejina had long since vanished from the scene. The only proof of their previous presence was two pairs of dark glasses, thrown aside as they had fled. Veneer finally kicked himself free, noted the position of the glasses and sped off quickly northwards, yelling over his shoulder.

"Viscen, arrest these brats! Alert the Guard! I'll catch the others!"

Captain Viscen stood and stared bemusedly at the pile of winded children before him.

"Ow." Kat said finally. "Would whoever is standing on my ankle please get off?"

"Well someone has to get off my back first," Ty groaned.

"Guys, we have to stop Veneer!" Kafei said, awkwardly squirming out of the pile onto the ground.

"Yeah!" Link said. "Just a sec, let me get off of…what is this?"

"My hand," Chiron gritted.

"Oops, sorry."

Viscen roughly pulled the tangle of children apart, with a look of furious concern. "What in the name of the Four Giants did you think you were doing? This is obstruction of justice!"

"No, this is preventing your crazy lackey from committing murder!" Link retorted hotly.

Viscen put his hands on his hips imperiously. "Young man, I don't think you realize how much trouble you're now all in."

"With all due respect sir," Kafei said, standing and brushing at his tunic, "I don't think you understand. Your hired hunter is attempting to _murder_ our friend. He's _ten years old_. Are you really going to allow a man that you hired to kill a child on your orders?"

Captain Viscen froze. "Of course I wasn't-"

He trailed off, feeling unnerved. The looks these children were giving him simply did not belong on the faces of innocent children. Their hot accusatory eyes, especially those of the green-clad Hylian boy, made him suddenly shiver.

He took a deep breath. "Hold on just one moment. First, somebody here is going to have to explain exactly what is going on here. Did Timbre knock over that crate or not?"

"He…he did, yes…" Sond began miserably, "But-"

Viscen held up a hand. "And the girl, Tejina, what does she have to do with this?"

Kat shuffled, examining a bruised elbow. "It's complicated…see she was there when the crate fell over, but she didn't have anything to do with it, but Veneer wouldn't care-"

"I understand. The boy did the deed, _she_ did not. Unfortunately your friend is still guilty of trespassing and vandalism."

"But he didn't _mean _it!" Kat argued. "It could've been anyone!"

"And he even paid back the damage!" Sond added.

"Be that as it may," Viscen said, "I cannot just allow-"

"He's _harmless_!" Ty grated. "Just because he's-" Sond coughed and nudged Ty. "Well, everyone's entitled to a mistake, right?"

"_Lobo_ ain' any reas'n ta kill!"

Viscen sighed. "He does seem like a decent little fellow, but still, one must answer for wrongs done. And this lens-" Here Viscen stooped and retrieved the purple eye, "I did see…Veneer was actually _right_, I saw-"

"Yes, but that isn't important right now." Chiron said impatiently.

"You knew? You knew that he is a-"

"It _doesn't matter_, sir," Kafei pleaded desperately. "Please. We need your help."

"I' Veneer catch' up to 'em, they en' gonna 'ave a chance!" Nick said urgently.

If he catches them, they're both dead," Chiron agreed.

"_Murdered_," Nick elaborated.

Viscen looked at all their young faces, and finally sighed. "Very well. I agree, we cannot allow Veneer to do anything rash."

Kat nodded. "Right! If we split up we'll find them faster. Sond, Ty, Link…you three search East Clock Town, Kafei and I'll take the western route around the stage and loop up to the Northern District, and Nick and Chiron can go with the Captain. You three need to find Kei and Ana, okay?"

"Right!" All the kids eagerly split up. Viscen stood, confused.

"Bu-" Viscen was a bit flabbergasted. Being the Captain, he just wasn't used to being ordered around by children. It seemed just so abnormal. But the way these children were acting…

"Come on Captain, we have to find Kei and Ana!" Chiron urged the Captain, running off towards South Clock Town, the opposite way Veneer had taken. With a last shrug, Captain Viscen jogged after them, his armor clanking loudly.

**-;O;-**

All bets were off, as far as Timbre and Tejina were concerned. They were both in wolf form, hurtling northwards down avenues, through alleyways, and across streets. Unfortunately Clock Town was a city completely surrounded by walls, and they were in constant danger of being suddenly caught in a dead end. Between them, Tael fluttered, flickering with distress. He'd quietly followed Timbre, as Link had asked.

It was no use trying any of the gates, as each was locked and posted with a pair of Guards. They finally stopped, panting, pausing behind a crate just beyond sight of the Eastern Gate. They both stared around, ears forward, straining to catch sight, sound, or scent of their pursuer.

Tejina looked at her companions desperately. "Now where? We can't run forever!"

"You guys need to find somewhere to hide! Where's the last place you'd normally go?" Tael said rhetorically.

Timbre tried to fight the panic clouding his mind, staring at the ground. All his body wanted to do was _run_, but he needed to _think_. Tael orbited his head, agitated and smelling of moon dust and old parchment. Anxious, Tejina did a slight whimpering dance in place.

"Hurry up, would you?!"

"I'm trying to think…"

Tael jingled anxiously. "Oh no, oh no, he's here, he's here…I can see him, but don't think-" THUD!

A long knife seemed to suddenly sprout from the crate, quivering ominously between the two wolves. A few guard hairs that had been clipped from Timbre's coat floated in the air. Tejina jumped, yelped, and bolted. At that exact moment, Timbre's ears stood straight up as his mind suddenly cleared.

"I've got it! This way!" He flung himself in a northwesterly direction, towards the smell of fresh grass and city trees. Behind them they could hear the loud echoing thuds as Veneer's boots pounded the pavement. They might be smaller and faster than he was, but he was still dangerous, and they still had no clear route of escape.

Veneer paused to retrieve his knife, staring at the loose fur. Not a bad shot, considering the distance and the low light. The wolves were already out of sight, but he'd clearly seen the path they had taken. The more they ran, the more they would exhaust themselves. All he needed to do was to keep them from having any chance to rest or hide away, run them until they were so worn out they would no longer be able to swiftly dodge or escape. Veneer calmly turned his boots towards North Clock Town. The Guards at the gate stared after Veneer, confused. As he passed, the hunter turned around and glared at them with gimlet eyes.

"Listen," Veneer snapped at them. "Don't let anyone…or any_thing_, near those gates! We've unearthed the beasts, and if they're blocked off from leaving, then they can't escape the city."

The Guards nodded slowly. Veneer was under the Captain's orders, after all.

**-;O;-**

"Where…exactly…are we headed?" Tejina panted, trying to keep up the breakneck pace. The three of them were quickly becoming fatigued. Tael, who had become weary from so much high-speed flight, decided instead to cling to Timbre's left ear.

Timbre stared directly forward as he suddenly slowed back to a trot. He could see and smell the green scent of trees and sap; they were well into Clock Town's parklike Northern District. Although the northern gate was sorely tempting, it too was closed and guarded.

"Plenty of bushes to hide in by that play slide over there on the right," Tejina remarked.

The slide in question was tucked in a small alcove to the right of the northern gate. Half a dozen tall bushes grew in front of it, nearly motionless in the still night air.

"Normally I'd agree, but we don't want to bother those; they're Keaton bushes. You familiar with them?"

"Heard of them, never seen them," Tejina said, resisting the urge to try nibbling at one.

"We need to get up that rocky incline there on the other side of the park. See the entryway? And when we get inside, don't make too much noise, or you'll wake her up."

Tejina's bewilderment at this last wasn't sated, even as they slipped quietly up the ramp. At its crest there was a culvert-like entryway carved into the city wall. It couldn't have been a storm drain, Tejina marveled, as it was built on too-high ground. As she quietly followed Timbre into the darkness, her nose picked up a peculiar damp scent. Water? It was unlike any water she'd ever known. It somehow tingled; it smelled of sunlight and sharp star metal. As they moved towards the dimly lit back of the passageway, Tejina found out why.

The narrow passageway opened suddenly into a large shrinelike room, cloistered on all sides by pearl-like archways and columns. The very walls seemed to glow softly.

In the center of the shrine was a large, perfectly circular pool of water, flawlessly reflective and without a ripple. Fascinated, Tejina walked straight up to the rim of the pool, cocking her head at her reflection. She yipped quietly at it.

"Don't touch thewater!" Timbre warned.

The last thing they needed was to make any loud noise. They were still being chased. She followed Timbre as he slowly circled the pool. Tael abandoned Timbre's twitching ear and hovered quietly over the pool, a perfect duplicate violet orb reflected in the water below.

"I'd ask her for help," he said soberly, "but…well, I don't know if she would or not."

"Who?" Tejina asked, curiously.

"The Great Fairy." Tael said, correctly deciphering Tejina's questioning growl. "I mean, we did help _her_ out of a jam once, but…"

"You did?" The wolf looked interestedly at Timbre.

"Yeah, she was split into pieces by one of the masked Skull Kid's curses, and…well…ever since then, she's been rather overly thankful-awp!" Timbre's right front paw accidentally slipped into the pool with a resounding splat. Ripples flowed outward from his paw, disturbing the perfect mirror and causing their reflections to subtly distort.

"Did somebody call me?" A dulcet female voice echoed through the cavern.

"Uh…no?" Tael said, somewhat stupidly. Below him, Timbre shook his damp forepaw in annoyance.

With a cackle that befitted an old woman rather than a Great Fairy, she emerged. Tejina blinked. She was a giant ethereal floating dryad, clothed in ivy and flowing orange tresses, which undulated about her head like three bushy tails. Peering around, the Great Fairy of Magic quickly spotted Tael.

"Why _hello,_ Tael!" She started, sounding enthusiastic about her visitor. "What brings you here? Did you bring friends?"

"Um." Tael stammered, looking apologetically at the pair sitting below.

The Great Fairy laughed again, even more piercingly this time. Allowing herself to hover lower, she peered at her other two guests.

"Aha." Her brow furrowed. "You can't fool me with that shape, young one."

"Sorry," Timbre said shortly, returning to human form and standing upright.

"Hello, Timbre," the Great Fairy smiled, and she hovered a few feet lower than normal. "You seem rather troubled…"

"Eheh…" Timbre said, scratching the back of his head nervously. "That's kind of why we're in here, we're being chased, you see…"

"Oh?" The Great Fairy stared Timbre in the eye. "And why are you being chased?"

Tejina also became human and piped up. "It's really a long story, but the short of it is-

"I knocked over that crate in West Clock Town," Timbre mumbled.

"Ah, that was you?" The Great Fairy said. "I'm surprised at you, young one. That isn't like you at all."

"It was an accident," Timbre muttered sullenly.

Tejina changed the subject. "Anyhow, the hunter that the Guard Captain hired found out about Timbre and me and is trying to _kill_ us, and the Clock Town Guard is likely after us, and in general, it's a bit of a mess."

During the story, the Great Fairy nodded at intervals, looking interested. "But where do _you_ fit into this story, little she-wolf?"

"I'm-"

"She got caught up in my mess," Timbre admitted.

"Though that _wasn't_ his fault," Tejina added firmly.

"Well," the floating dryad said finally. "That _is_ quite a dilemma."

"Can you let us hide in here?" Timbre said hopefully. "Please?"

Bright-rimmed eyes oriented on the boy. "Unfortunately, my charge and alliance lie first with Clock Town. And your actions do technically make you a criminal in the eyes of Clock Town's law."

"For goodness sake!" Timbre half-yelled in exasperation. "It was an _accident_!"

"But no matter your intentions, you must answer for your actions, young one." The Great Fairy murmured musically. "Besides, it would only be a matter of time before the Guard would come to my Fountain, and ask me of your whereabouts." She folded her arms. "And if they ask, I _will_ need to tell them the truth."

Both children looked a bit crestfallen. "So that's it. We're sunk," Timbre said despairingly.

Smiling not unkindly, the Great Fairy added, "I did not say I would not help you. Although I cannot interfere directly, offering you some advice does not violate my alignment. And I offer you this advice: true friends are those who are willing to aid you, and you them."

"But-" Timbre started.

"Good luck!" With a final laugh, the Great Fairy vanished in a burst of light.

"Well," said Timbre after a beat, "That was nice and cryptic."

"Not really, I think what she meant was to find your friends. Or maybe she meant Kei and Ana. Then it'll be all of us against Veneer, instead of just the two of us."

"Three." Tael remarked dryly.

"Three, sorry. Safety in numbers and all."

"So, I guess we can't hide in here after all," Timbre said, walking towards the exit. He ran a hand through his hair. "Pretty pointless side track."

"Hey, you got some advice at least," Tael said. "And at least she didn't ask us to stay for cookies. She _always_ bakes oatmeal, and I _hate_ oatmeal."

**-;O;-**

Veneer stood stoically, hunting knife glinting dangerously in one hand, as he breathed slowly, savoring the cool summer night air. While he rested, he allowed his eyes to study several possible hiding places in North Clock Town. He decided the entrance was unlikely, as the Guards there were alert and hadn't spotted anything, even though it was very dark. And even a bunch of dullards the likes of Viscen's guards wouldn't have missed something like two wolves trying to get through the gate.

North Clock Town was deserted, and not as well lit as the rest of the town. The Festival, taking place near the tower had leeched all activity away from the park-like district. There were fewer homes here, and Veneer was determined not to leave a single hiding place unconsidered.

Sond, Ty, and Link peered out of the dark ivy covered entryway separating the Eastern District from North Clock Town. Their route had taken them around the right side of the Milk Bar, following a similar route to that which Veneer had taken. Flattened against the wall so that the hunter couldn't see him, Link held a finger to his lips and pointed to Veneer, looking back at his companions. They nodded silently in acknowledgement.

For once, Ty and Link were cooperating without much complaint. Now that their friend was in serious danger, their rivalry had been temporarily forgotten. Reveling quietly in this sudden alliance, Sond inclined her head as Veneer walked towards the northern gate, presumably to alert the two guards to the situation. Daring a look, she flattened herself against the wall as Link had.

"Look!" Sond hissed suddenly, hoping Veneer was out of earshot. "At the Great Fairy's Fountain…" The other two followed her anxious eyes.

Peering around the rim of the Fountain's cavernous entryway were two small figures, one gray, the other black and white. Hovering between them was a glowing purple pinlight. Ty's tail bristled.

"Hsst!" Ty hissed urgently, trying to get their attention. This was difficult, seeing as he wanted to get their attention whilst leaving Veneer unalerted.

"I don't think they'll be able to see us…" Link said, biting his lip. "Waving isn't doing any good!"

"If only the wind were blowing the right way, they could probably smell us…" Ty said desperately.

"Or if we had a light-" Sond suddenly stopped in mid sentence and knocked herself in the forehead. "Oh. I am such a dummy…"

With a triumphant look she pulled out an arrow from her quiver.

"Won't that much light alert Veneer and the guards?" Link asked hesitantly. The two men in metal armor were now in low earnest conversation with the man in the furs.

"It's tricky, but if I don't fully charge it, it won't be so bright. I just need enough light to get their attention…

As if in response to her words, a tiny warm glow, tinier than a firefly, appeared at the extreme tip of the arrow. It was so small, it barely cast any light at all. That wouldn't do.

"Give it a little more power than that," Ty suggested.

"Okay…" Sond squinted in concentration, and before their eyes, the small pinprick inflated to the size of a marble.

"That'll work," Link said approvingly. "Now hold it up."

Sond did so, waving it slightly for good measure. They were rewarded with two furry heads snapping in their direction, ears forward. "Good! They've spotted us!"

The purple light that was Tael flittered quickly across the grassy area, hugging walls and shadows. Fortunately, Veneer was too involved with the guards and did not notice him.

"You guys," Tael said in alarm as he got to them, "They can't hide in North Clock Town. The Great Fairy said-"

"Hush," Sond said soothingly. "We're going to need to distract Veneer long enough for them to slip away."

"And _then_ what?" the fairy demanded. "More running? We're worn out!"

"If we can keep away from Veneer long enough, Chiron and Nick and Captain Viscen will be able to find Kei and Ana, and hopefully get the guards to stand down. They'll put a stop to it."

"Hey guys, look…" Link pointed off to the left, towards the opposite Northern District entrance, the one that led to South Clock Town. "There's Kafei." There was no mistaking that purple shock of hair, even from a distance. And the small brown-haired figure with him could only be Kat. Sond waved her muted light arrow some more.

The small Kafei turned his head, and smiling, poked the equally miniscule Kat on the shoulder and pointed. They both turned and waved. Ty waved back, then pointed over at Veneer, who was still conversing with the two Guards. Then he pointed to the entrance and nodded. Seeming to understand, Kat gave the thumbs up. She then busied herself, removing something from her pocket.

"You didn't slip that lemon stuff in _her_ pockets too, Ty?" Link said uncomfortably. He was glad it was so dark, nobody noticed the stains if they couldn't be seen very well.

"No." Ty said simply. "That's a slingshot she's taking out."

"A slingsho-Wait a second, that's _mine_!" Link protested.

"She borrowed it the other day at Honey and Darling's, don't you even remember?" Sond asked.

"Oh. What's she gonna do with it?"

"We'll see."

Kat loaded a small seed (or maybe a stone, it was hard to tell at a distance) into the slingshot. Flashing a wicked grin at them, she took aim, pulled the strap as far back as it could go, and fired.

CRACK!

The shot did not hit Veneer, instead clattering loudly into one of the northern gateway's stone arches. However, the sudden sound made all three men jump as if a bee had stung them. Veneer jerked viciously upright, eyes stretched wide in surprise. The sharp, loud exclamation that Veneer emitted as he did so made Sond blush.

Link snickered. "I didn't know that word could be used like _that_," he said, keeping a hand over his mouth so that his laugh wouldn't carry.

"That's great and all, but now…" Ty trailed off as Veneer now turned his head towards the entrances, suspicious. "Now he'll find _us_, and…well…that could be a bad thing."

Sond had another idea though. Dousing the arrow's light before Veneer noticed it, she nocked it on her bow and took aim. However, she wasn't planning on hitting Veneer. She had to get this just right…closing one eye, she sighted along the shaft until she spotted her target. That group of seemingly innocent bushes near the slide to the right of the gateway…

"What are you doing?" Link hissed. Then his blue eyes brightened as he noted the direction she was aiming. "Well, that answers _my _question…nevermind…"

"Good. Now be quiet so she can aim right. She doesn't have many arrows left to waste." Ty warned, as Sond cleared her throat importantly.

"Three…two…one…!"

ZWIIISH! THUD!

The arrow rocketed directly into the center of the bushes with a loud hiss. For a moment, the bushes quivered, as if in outrage at being shot at. Then, a moment later, the entire group of bushes began to rustle loudly of their own volition, the bushes uprooting themselves with much swishing, twisting, and crackling.

"What the-" they heard Veneer exclaim, and the Guards turned their heads towards the commotion. Veneer picked himself up, and hurried towards the disturbance. The bushes were now trundling about, rather quickly for immobile plants.

"You're in there, I know it!" Veneer growled, and waded into the moving bushes, which came up to his waist. Further agitated by this, the bushes all swarmed away from the man.

He didn't notice the two shadows that slipped furtively out of the Great Fairy's Fountain, hugging walls whenever they could. As they approached, the three groups swiftly merged and fled down the eastern avenue leading towards the Mayor's residence. With a wave of his tail, Timbre looked up at them all gratefully, his expression mirrored on Tejina's as she followed him.

"That was a close one," Tael breathed.

"Just what _were_ you two thinking, anyway?" Sond hissed severely, looking down at the pair of miscreants, stopping them in their tracks. She tapped her foot impatiently.

Timbre blinked and looked away, either unwilling or just unable to answer. He was still a bit frightened of what Veneer would do if he caught them, and that fear now encompassed all his friends. Tejina looked downcast, ears flat, staring with her nose pointed to the ground as if she were really tired.

"Do you know how worried and frightened we were when we found you gone?" Sond said. "You could have been killed! And _please_ don't look at us like that," Sond scolded down at the forlorn pair as they turned mournfully guilty eyes on her. "You should have stayed at the Laundry Pool."

"Mrr…" Tejina grumbled apologetically. Timbre too looked sorry.

"In any case, we can't let you two get into any more trouble. We need to get you out of here." Ty said after a moment's awkwardness had passed. "Somewhere…where Veneer _can't_ go."

"Any chances of getting over the wall?" Link wondered idly.

"Not unless you can fly," Ty grumbled.

"Fly? Well what about if we had Kas-" Link started.

"No." Ty said firmly, eyes flashing.

"But Kas-"

"Just _drop it_, alright?" Ty looked a little annoyed, and his tail started to lash from side to side.

The door to the Mayor's Residence opened with a sudden squeal, thankfully masking Timbre and Tejina's yelp of shock. The wolves melted back, hiding behind a wall of legs as Mayor Dotour suddenly backed out of the building, dragging a heavy burlap sack with him. He peered over his shoulder at them.

"Aha!" The spindly man looked relieved. "Kafei! Your mother and I have been looking for you everywhere. For one thing, well done on the song, son."

"Thank you," Kafei said weakly.

"Second, I was wondering if you might be able to help me with something…"

"Um-"

"You see, Mamamu Yan had specifically requested I hold onto some items for her, and since she's in town tonight, I was wondering if you could deliver them to her for me."

"Um-"

"Excellent! You are very helpful. She should be at the stage with her dogs, performing in the talent show. Now if you'll excuse me-" The Mayor of Clock Town hurried southwards, barely paying attention to the other children, and certainly not to the two four-legged shadows behind them.

As soon as Dotour was out of earshot, Kafei looked sullenly from the large sack to his friends. "As if things couldn't get any worse…"

"Well, _now_ what we do, then? I'm sure Veneer's getting bored of those Keaton bushes," Link said.

No sooner had the Hylian boy spoken, when Tejina whined quietly, her ears cupped forward. She could hear footsteps coming from the entrance to North Clock Town.

And then Kafei sneezed.

"Run!" Everybody gasped at once as the footsteps abruptly hastened. Everyone took their own advice, and with a clatter of boots, paws, and wing-whirring(in Tael's case), they ran southwards.

"That wasn't good…" Kafei panted, the burlap sack slung heavily over his shoulder.

"You just _had_ to have allergies, didn't you?!" Ty snapped at him, running.

"Sorry for breathing!" Kafei snapped back, nearly tripping over his own boots.

Squashed in a row against the Stock Pot Inn's southern wall, they stopped to catch their breath. Nothing could be heard but heavy breathing, as the kids exchanged fearful looks. After a moment, Link spoke up.

"This guy," Link wheezed between breaths, "has got a _serious_ problem! Y'know, if you guys run, I can hold him off-"

"Link, _seven_ of us weren't able to before…"

Kat, who was the one closest to the corner, peered around it. "Oh _no_…"

"What?" Kafei asked.

"Did we lose someone?" Ty asked.

"Is my stain getting worse?" Link asked.

"Woof?" Timbre offered.

"No!"

"What's wrong, already?!" Kafei said, exasperated.

"He's _coming this way,_" Kat squeaked.

The chase began anew.


	14. Chapter 14

An Act to Follow – Part 14 – Kasumi ex machina

Nick grunted, gritting his teeth as he slowly pummeled his way through the packed crowd. Since the kids' portion of the talent show had ended, the adult competitors had now taken over the stage. He wasn't completely sure, but it sounded like the act currently on stage was Mamamu Yan and her trained pack of dogs from Romani Ranch.

Behind him, Chiron was having equally as much trouble with the crowd. Periodically both of them would yell out Kei and Ana's names, but it really wasn't too helpful; the crowd was too noisy, so they had as much chance of being heard over the din that a Goron had in successfully learning to swim.

"_Vanditas_," Nick grumbled. "I'm 'bout thi' close t' usin' m'dirk t' poke m' way through…"

"Now now," Chiron said begrudgingly behind him, grunting as he shoved by a portly man. "We don't promote violence."

Behind both of the children, Captain Viscen waded after them, trying to keep up. He wasn't having quite as much difficulty in standing upright, being an adult, but he was in constant danger of losing his two smaller companions in the crowd. Finally he had to yell ahead. "Wait up, please!"

"I dunno if it was such a good idea to bring him along," Chiron remarked to Nick.

Nick had accidentally trodden on someone's foot. He dodged a retaliatory buffet. "Mebbe, but 'ees th' Captain, 'ee c'n mebbe clear th' _lobo_'s name…" The redhead snorted, nearly slamming headlong into a woman as he traded insults. "An' call off th' Guards. Less' get t'where th' crowd isn' so…" He trailed off, trying to find the right word.

"Crowded?" Chiron offered, signaling back to Viscen.

"Tha's it. C'mon…"

**-;O;-**

Elsewhere, on a nearby roof, Kasumi sat down. He was perfectly still, except for his eyes, which flickered busily, scanning the crowd like a scholar would a textbook. Exhaling, the gray-haired man sighed though his teeth. Any moment now, he'd pick up on where his brother and his friends were. And with them would be Timbre and Tejina. Hopefully, although they were on the run, they would have the common sense not to get separated.

Blinking, he caught a flash of red hair as two small figures pulled away from the crowd. Chiron and Nick. Two down, seven to go.

The tall metallic figure that followed them moments later could only be Captain Viscen. Kasumi raised an eyebrow. No, he wasn't _chasing _them…

As Viscen's figure stooped to talk to the children, Kas realized that Viscen was now an ally. _Good,_ he thought. _Maybe he can stop Veneer before anything bad happens_. But still, Viscen was the Captain of the Guard in Clock Town, and their encounter a few days ago had drawn him as a man likely to be misinformed.

No, Kasumi thought. His help would still probably be needed. Now, if only those two would show up, he'd be able to offer that help…

**-;O;-**

The last thing on the friends' minds at the moment was not whether or not they were missed; currently all of their diminishing energy was donated on one cause, and one cause alone.

Getting away from Veneer.

This was proving much harder than expected. For one, he had longer legs, and for another, there were a lot more of them than there was of him. Secondly, although the four-legged members of the group could easily outrun him in short sprints, they wouldn't be able to keep up such a frantic pace forever. Sooner or later they were likely to run out of both stamina and hiding places.

They had managed one minor tactical victory, however. When Kat had cried the warning of Veneer's approach, they'd wisely looped _around_ the Milk Bar and headed back to North Clock Town, instead of taking off southwards. In this way they'd managed to avoid getting caught up in the crowd. And it seemed to have confused Veneer slightly, as they'd lost sight of him.

Sond's evaluation of their current situation was thus: Even if they could shake Veneer off temporarily, he'd eventually find them again, as there were only so many hiding places. That, coupled with creeping fatigue, meant the chase would inevitably end with a confrontation. Unless she and her friends could find Nick and Chiron, the Captain, Kei and Ana, she knew this was a losing battle.

There might be more of them than Veneer, but Veneer also had some command of the Guards, and frankly he was bigger and stronger than they were. It had been hard enough for seven of them to hold him down…

Kafei nearly tripped over the huge burlap sack he was lugging as he looked to his right. They were cutting back through North Clock Town, looping briefly around the back of the Clock Tower, past the statue of the owl with outstretched wings, and then into West Clock Town's small square, Link skidded to a halt near the Post Office, glancing over his shoulder. The rest of the humans followed suit, disheveled and panting.

Timbre, Tejina, and Tael halted in the shadows, peering out from behind a large but neatly stacked pile of sacking. The square was well lit, and wasn't deserted, as two Guards proved. Like all the gates leading out of the city, the Western Gate too was locked. If they were going to go any further, the Guards would definitely spot them.

"Nuts," Tejina panted, her head hung in fatigue.

Timbre just flopped wearily on the ground. He really wished they could simply close his eyes and rest awhile, but they couldn't. For all they knew, Veneer could come hurtling after them at any moment.

Link seemed to think otherwise, as he murmured to the others. "I think Veneer's gone. He's not behind us anymore."

Ty glanced hastily back, tail a twitch. "Yeah, he's not there. For now anyway…" he added darkly.

"Well, anyway, maybe it's best we move on…" Link said, looking over to where Timbre and Tejina were. "Come on, guys."

"_Ixnay_," Sond reprimanded him, gesturing over at the two Guards. "Unlike some of us, they can't just walk by like they are."

"So how do we get by?" Link asked. One of the Guards looked in their direction curiously.

Kafei looked from Link to Ty, then over to the sacking pile where the wolves hid. "I've got an idea. You two come with me. Sond…Kat…" He started ushering Ty and Link towards the sacks. "Uh, go chat with the Guards or something."

"Thanks a _lot_…" Kat grumbled. She wasn't able to comment further as one of the Guards spoke up with a rattle of armor that echoed dully throughout the square.

"Hey," The Guard leaned on his spear, bemused. "The way though the shop strip is closed off, you know. Been trouble down there recently, and we were told to keep an eye on you kids. Captain thinks you kids're the ones causing trouble."

"No, dummy…" The second Guard seemed a little slower than the first. "It isn't kids he said to watch out for. Its those wo-"

"Shaddap!" The first Guard shot a warning glance at his companion. Turning back towards Kat and Sond, he squinted, his former bemusement turning to suspicion. "What're you doing 'round here anyway?"

Kat blinked. "Er…we were just going…going to-"

"The stage!" Sond piped up, noting the dim roar of the crowd to the south.

"Right!" Kafei added, popping up between them. Apparently whatever plan he had thought up was ready. "See, my Dad wanted us to do an errand for him back at the house, see, so were wondering if we could detour though the closed off area because of the crow-"

"Alright, alright," the first Guard interrupted. "You're the Mayor's kid. What kind of 'errand' did he have you do, then?"

"Yeah!" The second Guard added dully.

Kafei pointed over his shoulder at Link and Ty, who were carrying a bundle of two large and lumpy sacks between them towards the southern exit. "A delivery. It's for…um…"

"The Doggy Racetrack lady!" Kat added wildly. "It's so bulky with the crowd…"

"Yeah!" Sond added.

Behind them, Link accidentally trod on Ty's tail.

"Yeouch! You stupid-" Ty's end of the bundles hit the ground with a thump as he whirled, grabbing the offended appendage. Several loose hairs floated about as he yelled at Link. "That _hurt_!"

Link, who was still clutching his end of the bundle, gritted through his teeth. "Not now, not now…pick it up and get going…you can beat me up later, honest, just keep…moving!"

This seemed to placate the injured Volcanian. Ty seized the sacks roughly and they hoisted them once again. "I swear…" he grumbled as they creeped slowly southwards. "You are _so_ dead when this is all over…"

"For once, it was _actually_ an accident, sheesh!"

The second Guard peered vacantly. "I could've sworn I heard that sack yelp when they dropped it…"

"Oh, don't be stupid," The first Guard glared again at his compatriot. Looking pointedly at Kafei, he nodded. "Right then. Off you go, and don't let me catch you up to any mischief, or I'll tell your mother."

Kafei's eyes widened a little. "R-right, sir!" Looking a bit paler than usual, Kafei followed Ty and Link. Kat and Sond sighed collectively in relief and followed the boys.

**-;O;-**

As soon as they were out of eye and earshot of the two Guards, Sond seized one of her arrows and sliced open the string tying one of the bundles together. A rather bedraggled and sore-looking trio of Timbre, Tejina, and Tael struggled free, looking slightly dazed.

"Sorry about that, guys," Kafei apologized. "Spot decision, I shouldn't have made those two carry you…"

Ty, meanwhile, had whirled around and punched Link in the shoulder the moment he had the chance.

"Hey!" Link protested. "I didn't do it on purpose, you know…"

"But you promised that I could hit you," Ty said innocuously.

"I didn't _mean_ it, it was just to keep you going…" Link argued.

Timbre shook himself off, shedding a few more guard hairs in the process. "I don't think I can run anymore right now," Timbre growled, letting his ears fall back. "I just _really_ want to find somewhere to lie down."

"That makes two of us," Tejina replied. They both started slowly moving down the street garnering six blank stares from their companions.

"Anything you guys would like to share with us?" Link called after them, rubbing his smarting shoulder. "You know we can't understand you like that."

"I've been telling them that all day," Tael said. "Can't understand a word…Kind of wish Kas were here, eh?"

"Yeah," Ty said vaguely. "He disappeared right around the time those two went on stage." "Anyhow…" Kat said. "I suppose we should go…"

"But where?" Kafei said.

"I think we should take a breather first," Sond said, looking over at Timbre and Tejina, who had abruptly stopped near the Bomb Shop. As they watched, Timbre flopped on his side next to one of the flowerbeds, and Tejina followed suit. As the group followed, they slowly passed by the cordoned area that denoted the position of the fallen crates. Ty whistled hollowly through his teeth.

"Well well well," he remarked sarcastically. "How terrible a crime, think of all the poor people in Clock Town who will have to do without a few bottles of honey…"

Still lying on his side, Timbre looked over at Ty with an expression that appeared to be the wolf version of a embarrassed smirk. Ty smirked back. "Hey, it could've been anyone."

"Well," Kafei said as he examined the scene. "I'd say they _did_ go a little bit overboard…" He put a hand on his chin. "I mean, I suppose I'd wonder a little with the pawprints and all, but come _on_, why hire a hunter?"

Sond chewed her lip. "Well maybe Viscen was scared-"

"Cowardly, more like it…" Link grumbled.

"_Scared_," Sond re-iterated. "I mean, what if you were in his place? Remember last spring? He _was_ the first to call for the town's evacuation, and was willing to fight for _days_ over it. What do you think he would do if he found out that there was some predatory animal loose?"

"Isn't that the case now?" Link chuckled, looking over at Timbre and Tejina.

"Well, what if you didn't know they didn't mean any harm?" Sond added.

"Well…I'd be suspicious, I suppose…" Link said. "Okay, so maybe Viscen had the safety of the city in mind, but he didn't need to go hire a absolute nutcase to do his dirty work, did he?! I mean, what if that guy had caught Timbe before we'd stopped him, huh?"

There was an ominous growl from Timbre's direction as Link got his name wrong yet again.

"Speaking of…I think we'd better get going soon. Staying in one place like this is awfully risky." Ty mumbled. "_Vanditas_, this whole business is getting so frustrating…"

"-we're running out of places to run," Link pointed out.

"I _know_ that," Ty snapped. "And we can't keep this up forever. They're both exhausted, look at them. _We're _not doing so hot ourselves. But if we can't find the Captain, we at least need to get them _out_ of Clock Town."

Link scuffed a boot on the ground. "Well, like I said before, Kas could always-"

"No." Ty said pointedly. "It's too dangerous."

"Um…" Sond said quietly.

Five pairs of eyes looked over at her, and two pairs of ears stood up.

"Do you hear that?" she asked

There was a faint jingling in the air.

Tael gave an answering jingle. "That's my sister!"

And it was. The yellow-white light that was Tatl looped gravely over the roofs, homing in on her brother. "Tael," she hissed, "Everyone. I have something important to tell you!"

"Did you find Kei and Ana?" Link asked her.

"Um, well, no," the fairy admitted ruefully. "But I found Kasumi. He wants me to relay a message to his brother."

Ty looked alarmed, but expectant. "Yes?"

"He said, 'Yes I will, but I'm going to need to be able to see them.'"

Surprised, the Volcanian blinked, frowning.

"Yeah, I had no idea what he was talking about either," Tatl mumbled moodily. "But I promised him I'd relay those exact words to you."

"Thank you," Link said gratefully. "Now if you and your brother would like to help some more, _please_ try to find Kei and Ana and Nick, Chiron, and Captain Viscen. Let them know we have a plan."

The two fairies jingled agreeably. "Alright, we'll let them know that Fuzzy and his girlfriend are in good hands!" With that Tatl and Tael flew into the air, circling each other in dizzy loop-the-loops before disappearing over the roofs.

Sond summed it up for all of them. "Well."

Link swallowed. "It's a plan, I mean that _would_ get them out of town, but-"

Kafei blinked. "But where would he fit? He's huge when he-"

"-unless there was some large sturdy structure he could land on…you know, without crushing it by accident." Kat added hesitantly.

Sond looked up. "How about a giant building made of stone, or better yet, a-"

"_Clock_!" Five voices shot out at once. Timbre and Tejina, who had been half dozing in the flowerbed, looked up in alarm, their ears standing straight up.

"Timbre, Tejina…" Ty said slowly. "We've got to get you to the Clock Tower. Now."

The two wolves looked at each other, puzzled.

"Tim, Tatl's message was from Kas. He's going to help, but he needs to be able to see you. Do you understand?"

Timbre cocked his head to one side, blinked, and then very deliberately nodded.

"Right!" Link said, "Off we go then!"

"_I don't think so_…"

A low chuckle that gave everybody the shivers rumbled from the south.

The wind shifted. Timbre's eyes snapped wide open. Tejina froze.

Veneer rounded the corner from the south, the exact way they had just been planning to take. Both Timbre and Tejina backed away from the man who smelled of their deaths. "Well well well…" Veneer chuckled unpleasantly.

Link looked back the way they had come.

"I wouldn't," Veneer said smoothly. "There's two Guards that way on full alert. They informed me of a very interesting package you were delivering. I don't suppose live wolves are legal trade in this town…"

Timbre snarled, showing his teeth. There really wasn't a need for any translation.

"Be quiet," Veneer snarled back at Timbre. "You thought you were so _clever_, didn't you…thought you could prey off this town without being noticed. Thought you could get past _me_. I should've recognized you the moment we bumped into each other, would've saved me a lot of trouble, and you a lot of running. Well, that all ends now." He retrieved something from his fur-lined boot, which glinted ominously in the dim light.

Timbre abruptly made a choked noise in the back of his throat. Tejina growled.

"You two recognize its make, then, eh?" Veneer smiled, flipping the long throwing knife back and forth between his hands. It was a good ten inches long, with a hilt wrapped in black leather. He flipped it expertly, and caught it by the blade. "Silver-edged blade. Get stabbed or even touched by this beauty, and you'll be trapped in that form." He licked his lips.

"You leave our friends alone!" Sond said suddenly, nocking an arrow onto her bow, her second to last. Likewise, the other four children readied themselves for a fight. Link drew his sword, Kafei crouched, Kat pulled out the slingshot, and Ty held up his fists, tail lashing from side to side.

The hunter looked nearly bewildered for a moment, before a sneer reappeared. "Friends?"

"Yes," Link gritted. "If you know what's good for you you'll back off!"

"Oh I wouldn't make such threats if I were you…resisting the law can be a very serious offense," Veneer said, smiling. "I am after all under official orders, from the Captain of the Clock Town Guard."

"_Why_?" Sond demanded.

"Well," Veneer said airily, "I'd originally asked for six hundred rupees, but I'm thinking of doubling the fee, for all the trouble that you've put me through."

"You're doing this for _money_?!" Kat said angrily.

"You make it sound as if I am cheating somebody, my dear," Veneer bowed mockingly. "I was hired to do this job. We all have to get by somehow. How fortunate for me, to have found a line of work that is so profitable."

"You monster," Link hissed. "They aren't things that you can just…hunt for money…they're not Wolfos, they're _people_…it's murder-"

"These are _not_ people," Veneer spat disdainfully. "Their kind are nothing more than evil vermin. Mouse-crunching parasites of civilization! Too savage to have their own society, so they leech off ours, scratching what meager semblance of life they can, mere dogs grubbing and fighting over the scraps of what we humans have built. I've seen it all before. It's _pathetic_."

"_That's not true_," Kat said.

The hunter bowed again. "Oh, isn't it now? Then tell me this, little girl: how is it that I could get a bounty on them in a city that hasn't _seen_ wolves in living memory? Vindicated by _myth_! Why, I can easily name a dozen other cities and settlements that would gladly pay me _triple_ what Clock Town's offered for their heads! In some places, I could even sell them live to menagerie collectors or exotic dealers. Don't think I haven't decided against it either," he added.

"You wouldn't dare-"

Veneer smiled, ignoring further insults. "I'd love to argue, but your opinions are irrelevant. Now put those weapons _down_. You see, I'm a very good throw with these knives…but I wouldn't want to hit one of you by accident." Veneer twitched, and a few more silver-edged knives appeared in his hand. "If there's a fight, well…somebody _could_ get hurt…one of the girls, perhaps…"

Ty yelled, "That's it, you've gone too far, Veneer!" He was starting forward when Veneer flipped his arm back suddenly, a knife glinting dangerously between his fingers.

"I'm warning you…just one more step…" The hunter smiled. "Do you really want to tempt fate?"

Timbre looked from Tejina to his friends, to Veneer. Then he stared at the ground, lips curled back in hasty decisions. After a moment, he seemed to decide something. Looking resolute, he straightened, reverting to human form. "Wait!"

Veneer scowled, weapon still raised. "The beast deigns to speak. What do you want?"

Despite Tejina urgent whimperings, Timbre stepped forward, jaw set. "It's me you're after, isn't it? So why are you threatening them?"

Veneer scowled.

"They're willing to make a fight of it, and if they do, you risk losing me. That's not what you want. Let them go." Timbre glanced down at Tejina. "All of them. Take _me_ instead, that's all you're really after, isn't it? Just let them go and I'll…surrender." Timbre's eyes went strangely flat as he stared intensely at the hunter.

"Tim, what are you doing?!" Link gritted.

"Don't do this!" Sond hissed, eyes wide.

Veneer's brow furrowed. "What trick are you trying to play?"

"No trick," Timbre said evenly.

"I don't believe you," Veneer sneered. "Why would _you_ care about _them_?"

"Because they're my _friends_," Timbre said furiously. "And it's my fault they're involved in this at all."

"Tim-" Sond started.

The boy turned to her, looking very serious. "I'm sorry you had to get involved. But now, it's time that I helped _you_." Timbre sniffed busily, and quickly turned away from them. "Please go. Is it a deal or not?" Timbre said, turning his eyes once more towards the hunter.

Veneer smiled. "Alright. Surrender, and I let them go."

Timbre nodded with downcast eyes, and stepped forward without any resistance. "Agreed." He said, in a tone like a funeral knell, walking towards Veneer.

The hunter let out a triumphant shout, and before the boy could change his mind, Timbre found himself half-choked as Veneer's left arm hooked heavily around his neck. He felt his feet leave the ground, and the next thing he knew, the silver knife was against his throat. Timbre would've struggled and snapped, but he'd promised to give up. The silver blade felt cold and strange against his throat, and a buzzing filled his head.

"Now that this silver's on you, you're mostly helpless," Veneer's voice hissed. "But _if_ you or your pals try anything, you'll only die painfully. Got that?"

Lights danced in front of Timbre eyes, so he shut them.

"Go on," he rasped. "Get out of here…"

Veneer chuckled. "Not likely. They are Viscen's to deal with now."

Timbre's eyes snapped open and he glared upwards. "You said you would let them go!" He choked.

"I said _I_ would," Veneer smiled spitefully. "I never said anything about the Clock Town Guard, did I? Your _friends_ are still in direct violation of Clock Town's laws, helping a renegade like you escape justice. The Guards are legally obliged to take them all into custody. You don't mess with me without paying the consequences. If they hadn't tried to interfere, they would've gone free. But not now."

"You dirty-" Ty started forwards, eyes blazing.

"One more step, boy, and I'll _cut his throat_!" Veneer warned, and the arm encircled about Timbre's neck spasmed, causing the boy to gag dryly. "Stand down and drop your weapons - all of you, or he dies _now_."

"Scum!" Ty spat, furiously. Sond and Link dropped their weapons with a metallic and wooden clatter, glaring wrathfully at the hunter.

Veneer nodded, his arm relaxing slightly. Timbre wheezed, able to breathe again. "Good. I called for backup, so they should be here shortly."

A sound of clanking metal slowly became audible over the dull white noise of the crowd. "Ah, that'll be them," Veneer smiled, turning his head towards the sound. "I suppose the Captain will be most interested to hear how these two beasts fooled you poor, impressionable children-"

Sond and Kat had to physically hang onto Ty's arms to stop him from rushing Veneer.

With a final clatter, six Guards arrived. Tejina swallowed apprehensively, unsure of what to do. She stared desperately over at the other children, but their expressions were as helpless as hers. Timbre's eyes were shut, and he was audibly gagging, in the face of the weapon at his neck.

"They're all yours," Veneer said scornfully to the Guards, gesturing towards the children with his head. "They're all charged with obstruction of justice."

"Hold it!"

Veneer scowled as the ranks parted and Captain Viscen pushed to the front. Behind him trailed Nick and Chiron, and behind _them_ stood Kei and Ana. A pair of bright yellow and purple lights hovering near Kei's ear proved to be Tatl and Tael. Viscen nodded curtly at Veneer.

"Stand down, Veneer."

Veneer glared defiantly at the Captain. "Your orders, _sir_, were to apprehend this beast." The knife hovered dangerously. "Well, here he is. Do you want me to dispatch him later, or right now?"

"My orders," Viscen said smoothly, "were indeed for you to capture him, _alive_. You have been successful. Therefore, our contract is now finished, Veneer. Let him go. "

"What?!" Veneer hissed, his eyes wide.

"You heard me, Veneer. Kill that boy, and you'll be charged with murdering him in cold blood in front of about a dozen witnesses, including the Captain of the Clock Town Guard. Drop him. Now."

Veneer stared wildly about him as if looking for support. The children were all glaring at him as if their only wish was for the earth to swallow him up. He stared around furiously, and then abruptly dropped Timbre, who hit the ground with a yelp.

Slowly scooting away from the hunter, Timbre swallowed. Massaging his neck, the boy coughed weakly, glad that the cold unsettling aura of silver had at last left him.

Viscen looked to his six Guards. " Thank you. You are all dismissed." The Guards, although puzzled, saluted and began moving out to the north.

One paused. "Sir, what should we do about-"

"I'll take care of it, Shiro," The Captain reassured his junior. "Please go."

"Yes sir!" The Guard saluted and left.

When he and the rest had left, Viscen looked down at Timbre and Tejina, who had swiftly joined the boy after he'd been released.

"You alright?" Tejina nudged at his cheek with her nose, concerned.

"Never better…" Timbre rasped roughly, though he managed a lopsided grin. "Nothing I haven't had worse of. Bit of a close call." He coughed again.

Viscen watched this exchange and shook his head in sheer amazement. "I wouldn't ever have believed it unless I'd seen it myself. You might be paranoid, Veneer, but you were right. Some things are _not_ what they seem."

Veneer grunted angrily. "Exactly. They're dangerous. Look how you're all convinced they aren't a threat!"

Tejina growled at Veneer, ears back.

Kei also scowled darkly at Veneer. "You aren't exactly one to talk."

Nick smirked. "Goo' thin' we foun' Kei an' Ana, eh?"

Ana nodded. "And luckier still that we intercepted that group of Guards on their way here. Apparently Veneer'd told them to meet him here, armed to the teeth. A little overboard for just a few kids, don't you think?"

"You're all insane," Veneer growled through his teeth, shaking his head. The knife turned over and over in his hands. "They'll turn on you someday…I'm telling you…"

"How dare you talk about our friends that way?" Sond burst out angrily.

"Look, girl-" Veneer hissed, brandishing his knife.

Viscen caught Veneer's knife arm and yelled in the hunter's face. "Stop this at once, Veneer!" He roared. "Have you gone mad?! Has this assignment robbed you of all your remaining rationale? Think about what you are doing!"

"I am!" Before Viscen could react, Veneer threw his knife.

Timbre dodged back, the silver blade narrowly missing his left hand. "Run!" He yelled hoarsely before changing form himself and dashing towards the South Clock Town exit. Then they were gone.

Kei leapt at Veneer, but anger had given the hunter a burst of adrenaline. Kei's arms clasped on empty air as the hunter took off, and the man collided heavily with the ground.

"Oh no…" Chiron moaned as Veneer whipped around the corner. It took everybody a second more to react. Link and Sond jumped up, retrieving their weapons.

"Come on!" Sond hissed at them all, and before anybody could say otherwise, she and the other children were off. The adults' cries were ignored as they, too, vanished.

"Wait a second! _Damn_!" Kei pounded the ground with his fist from his prone position. He pulled himself up, wincing.

"We're going to have to follow them," Ana said to Viscen as she hauled her husband to his feet. She continued pulling him towards the exit. "No telling what Veneer'll do, he's obsessed!"

"We're coming too!" Twin voices from the brother-sister pair of fairies wafted from above as the two took flight. Hovering busily above Viscen's head, they yelled in unison. "They're headed for the Clock Tower."

"Right!" said Viscen. "Though this is all very confusing." He admitted as an afterthought, making Ana and Kei roll their eyes.

"Just come on!" they said, hurrying off.

**-;O;-**

As Timbre and Tejina rounded the corner, neither of them wanted to look back over their shoulders in fear of what they would see. The sounds of the crowd became a sudden roar as they flung themselves recklessly through the gateway-

-and straight into Mamamu Yan's pack of dogs, who had just a moment ago finished their onstage act.

There was a cacophony of yelps, barks, and yips, as well as Mamamu Yan's call of admonishment as the two wolves blundered about within the confused pack. Timbre hurriedly disentangled himself from one white shaggy dog, which yipped at him in happy recognition.

Timbre turned his head to one side, surrounded on all sides by doggy smell. Tejina, who had been similarly entangled, finally pulled up alongside him.

"Whew! Good luck these guys are pretty civil, eh?"

"They're from the racetrack at Romani Ranch," Timbre explained briefly, as the white dog touched noses with both of them. "Actually…how would you guys like to do us a huge favor?"

As Timbre hurriedly woofed, yelped, and explained his plan in canine pidgin to the pack of dogs, there was a sudden commotion from the gateway as Veneer's boots came into view. "Tim!" Tejina gasped, unsure whether the wheezing sound she was currently making was due to exhaustion or fear. "Here he is!"

"Okay everyone," Timbre said. "On my signal-"

Timbre threw back his head and howled.

The pack of dogs exploded in every direction, barking, yelping, and generally making as much noise as possible. Mamamu Yan jumped in surprise. Sheltered amongst the mass of dogs, Timbre and Tejina bounded north. Tejina tripped up momentarily, hurtling past a golden-colored Deku Flower next to the gateway and narrowly missing its portly occupant.

The Deku Scrub salesman popped its snout out of the flower irritably, squeaking. "You pesky dogs! I have the right mind to go a-EEP!"

The salesman made a sound not unlike a deflating balloon as Timbre abruptly landed on his head, knocking the creature's fez askew. Bouncing off of the enraged Deku's head, Timbre sprang after Tejina, calling hastily over his shoulder, "Sorry mister!"

"Yes, and a 'Bark bark,' to you, too, Fido!" The Salesman squealed, shaking a fist at them. He retreated huffily back into his flower as Veneer burst by, knife in hand. He'd been distracted by the sudden flood of canines, but he had spotted the two of them as they disappeared back into the crowd.

"Tim, there's the tower, now what?" Tejina yelped frantically behind her. A forest of legs, thighs and feet surrounded her, and she screwed her eyes closed as she sneezed on stirred up dust. There were several shouts of alarm from up above as the remainder of the dog pack was slowly rounded up.

"We need to get somewhere where he can see us!" Timbre barked, above the roar of the crowd and the musical twanging of the Zora band currently performing on stage. Lucky for them, most of the crowd this deep was too busy with the music to notice them between their feet. But they were also in danger of being trampled. Sometimes inconspicuity could be a double-edged weapon.

"What?!" Tejina called back, her tail swishing.

"Just trust me! We need to- wait a second, we could use that ledge I was on-"

"What?!"

"There's a maintenance ledge on the Clock Tower, right above the stage. If we can get up there, he'll see us for sure!"

"But so would everybody else!" Tejina argued, tucking her tail between her legs to avoid it being stomped.

"By that point it won't matter anyway!" Timbre said, concentrating hard on avoiding several large boots. The smell of dozens of different sweats threatened to overwhelm him. "Problem is, the ramp to get up on the ledge is on the right side of the Tower. We have to fight through this crowd."

Behind them, a very unwelcome voice could be heard, barely, if they strained their ears to hear.

"Out of my way! Out!" Veneer shoved crowd members aside like tall grass. "I know you're in here, you won't get away this time!" People were beginning to give the hunter a wide berth as they noticed the weapon he was carrying.

Tejina looked down her nose at Timbre. "You'd better be right about this…" she warned as they started to thread their way eastward through the crowd.

"I am, don't worry!" Timbre dodged aside, moving his forepaw out of the way seconds before a Goron's foot would have stamped upon it.

Tejina snorted, hopping forward to avoid that foot's twin. "Hey, what exactly can Kasumi do to get us out of here, anyway? Tatl's message was rather vague…"

"You'll see…" Timbre said distractedly. "Hey, there's the ledge, see?" Sure enough, there was enough of a break in the crowd to see the ledge he had been talking about. Tejina coughed from dust kicked up by countless feet.

"Phew," she said. "It's dusty down here."

**-;O;-**

The children arrived on the scene just in time to hear a familiar howl as the pack of dogs scattered. Mamamu Yan's shrill voice made them wince.

"Kafei, give her that bag, would you?" Sond muttered to him. "It might calm her down."

As Kafei did so, the others busied themselves looking through the crowd for familiar faces.

"There he goes!" Link yelled, pointing as Veneer dove into the mob. "Wow, this crowd…who would've known Zora bands had such a rabid following? Even if they aren't the Indigo-gos…"

"Guys, if Veneer went that way…" Kat said, "You do realize that means that-"

"So did Tim and Tee…" Sond said. " I _really_ hope Kasumi does show up. I mean, he'd have to be kind of high up to see them, so-"

"'Ee mus' be on one o' th' roofs," Nick offered.

"But which one? We don't know which one to signal to!" Kafei lamented, returning to the group. Mamamu Yan had been placated somewhat, though she was still whistling for her pack.

"We don't need to signal," Ty said calmly.

"Why not?" Kafei asked.

"Because, he's observant. The fact that we're standing here should be enough…" Ty trailed off quietly. "He'll know."

"You sure about that?" Link said, raising an eyebrow. "I mean-"

"Hey, I just know, okay?" Ty snapped. "He is my brother, after all, I think I can be trusted to know things like this…"

"Okay, okay, just asking, sheesh…" Link held up his hands disarmingly, running after the group as they all started towards the crowd.

"Hey guys…" Kafei started.

"What?"

"I see them, they're headed for the tower, look!" Kafei pointed out two small four-legged shapes as they sprinted up the ramp on the right side of the Clock Tower. "See 'em?"

"And if _we_ can see them, that must mean that Kas can too, right?" Sond asked.

**-;O;-**

Sond was correct in her assumption. Squinting, Kasumi peered and spotted the two wolves as they broke from the crowd. Timbre was leading them both towards that ledge on the Clock Tower. _Smart move, _he thought. _Easily reached area, now if only_-

Veneer burst out of the crowd at that moment, hot on their trail. Kasumi bit his lip and stood up, cape flapping in the wind. It was now or never.

"Alright," he said to nobody in particular. "Here I go…"

**-;O;-**

"Oh, now what!?"

The platform that led to the ledge had one final obstacle – it was six feet from the top of the ramp to the ledge. In order to reach the ledge, one had to jump and pull oneself up, or climb. Timbre dully recalled how long it had taken him to scramble up there previously, and his heart sank.

Tejina's ears went back, and she growled. "Well, this is a kind of a letdown."

"Up you go!" With a grunt, Timbre headbutted his companion in the rump. "I'll give you a boost up."

"That's smart," Tejina grumbled, shying away from him. "Except how are _you_ supposed to get up afterwards?"

Timbre braced himself and glared at her. "I'll be fine. Just get going!"

Tejina's ears went back again. "What if you aren't? Veneer…" She risked a hasty glance behind her, only to have her worst fears confirmed. Veneer was quickly battling through the crowd, his eyes locked upon his targets. In moments, he would catch up to them. And if Tejina wasn't imagining things, that silvery glint in his right hand was that hunting knife-

Tejina shuddered and clambered up onto Timbre's back, calling back down to him. "I could help pull you up, but-"

"Trust me, it'll be fine!"

"But it's too high, you wouldn't have enough leverage on your own," Tejina argued. She managed to hook her forepaws on the ledge and dug her claws in. Veneer was getting closer. "Don't you _dare_ start getting all noble on me-"

Timbre grunted as he felt Tejina's weight lift from his back. Tejina scrambled up onto the ledge, then turned and looked down to her companion. "If you can grab onto my paw, I can help haul you up."

"Okay…" Timbre gulped, and put the idea of looking behind out of his mind. Knowing the hunter was close behind was bad enough. Bracing his hindquarters, he attempted a leap.

"Ack!" Too short. He'd missed her outstretched paw by a good foot.

"Try again!"

"That's…easy for you…to say!" Timbre grunted, attempting the jump again, and failing, snapping his jaws at empty air. "I'm…still pretty winded…"

Flat on her belly, with one forepaw dangling, Tejina stared derisively down at him. "Is that the best you can do?"

Timbre growled, panicky in the light of the situation.

"You need to get up here now!" Tejina said urgently, looking up. Veneer was battering aside the last few members of the crowd in his way. Eyes wide, Tejina urged her companion on. "I'm _not_ letting you sacrifice yourself. Come on, come on…"

"YOW!" Timbre flung himself upwards, buoyed by pure panic. His jaws closed on Tejina's forepaw at the same instant that her teeth clamped down onto his left ear. Timbre hung precariously, halfway up the ledge, an anguished whine in his throat.

Tejina was nearly pulled off the ledge by the sudden added weight, and as her paws began slipping towards the edge, she felt the teeth around her right forepaw tighten. Setting her claws between the mortared cracks of stone, she slowly and agonizingly began walking backwards.

The stranded wolf braced his hind legs against the ledge as he was slowly pulled up, until his front paws were able to find purchase on the edge.

Timbre relaxed a little as the searing pain in his ear receded. Quickly, Tejina let go of Timbre's ear. She was about to congratulate him when her eyes widened, and she lunged forward, roughly grabbing Timbre by the scruff of his neck and hauling him up the rest of the way. They both fell in a heap on the ledge.

Not a moment too soon. A curse rang out as the point of Veneer's knife thudded into the wooden ledge they had just climbed. Scooting backwards, both Timbre and Tejina glowered down at the man who still chased them despite everything.

"Now," Tejina breathed as she watched Veneer pull himself up the ledge, pausing only to retrieve his knife, "Now would be a good time for Kasumi to do whatever he's going to do…"

"I agree…" Timbre gritted, pawing at his injured ear. His paw came away with a smudge of blood. "Come on Kas…where are you?" He stared helplessly upwards at the sky, which was riddled with wispy clouds and stars. "Please…"

"Tim."

"What?" He looked over at her.

"Just so you know, you do have a really nice singing voice."

He looked at her in surprise, but then replied. "Thanks. Y-you're a good dancer, you know."

"Hah," Veneer chuckled, clambering onto the ledge with little difficulty due to his size. "Nowhere to run anymore…" Nobody could've heard them, as the band was still playing, but certainly they had _seen _them by now. A few members of the crowd were peering upwards, trying to discern the dark shapes behind the curtains, and amid the flickering torches. "Who will die first?"

Timbre growled at Veneer, ears folded back.

"Scared, are you?" Veneer mocked venomously as he closed in. "Don't want to give me any scars to remember you by?"

In response, both boldly stepped forward.

"_Not_ scared, then?" Veneer spun his knife, readying himself to strike. "Well…if you insist-"

And then, something happened.

_**BOOM**_.

The Clock Tower shook heavily, as if the entire city had suddenly been struck by a giant's fist. The tremor subsided quickly, but the crowd below them began to shout aloud in alarm as the Zora band stopped their song in mid measure. Timbre and Tejina dropped their bellies and chins to the ledge as they fought the sudden disorientation. Veneer stumbled, nearly losing his weapon.

"What the…"

He didn't have the time nor the care for any more words as he stared upwards at the Clock Tower, slack-jawed. Below him, the crowd was suffering a similar sudden loss of voice as they stared upwards at the cause of the sudden earthquake.

A great silver dragon perched imperiously on the Clock Tower, an enormous living gargoyle, its scales glinting like tarnished mirrors in the glow of the torchight below. Foreclaws resting on the edge of the clock's muraled face, it stared down its long muzzle at the crowd. Two spiraling horns grew from its crown, framing the gray feathery mane that ran down the dragon's long neck. The creature's wings cupped around the Clock Tower, partially folded, like a mother goose about its nest.

With a deep rumbling purr that resonated throughout South Clock Town, the dragon leaned forward, ponderously lowering its head until its nose was level with the ledge.

The silver-edged knife dropped from Veneer's nerveless grasp as he abruptly found himself staring into one massive gray slit-pupiled eye, set in a head which was easily larger than Veneer himself. The eye blinked.

On the same ledge, Tejina cowered. "Wha…what is it?" She squeaked, fur standing on end. Timbre however, seemed quite undisturbed.

"Don't ask questions, just get on!" Timbre replied, approaching the gigantic head.

"What?! Are you _crazy_?" Tejina barked wildly.

"Not really, I just want out of this city. Don't you?" Timbre replied, twisting his head to one side. Deep down he was enjoying this immensely. For once, _Tejina_ was the one stuttering.

"What are you talking about?!" She exclaimed, looking both scared and exasperated at the same time.

"Well, remember when I said practically the only way we'd get out of this city alive is if we sprouted wings?" He gestured with his nose towards the dragon's head. "Well, here's the next best thing. Told you Kas would come through. Us _lobos _need to stick together, after all…"

Tejina ogled as realization hit her. "You mean _that's_-"

Timbre wagged his tail once, and behind him, the giant dragon's eye winked.

"Come on up," Timbre said, beaming wolfishly. "We're in for quite a ride…"

**-;O;-**

Down below, Kei, Ana, and Viscen were among the many who had gone completely slack-jawed. They slowly caught up to and drew level with the group of children they had been pursuing, though their eyes remained riveted to the Clock Tower. The two fairies hovered on either side of Kei's shock of hair, for once without anything clever to say.

"Oh…my…" Kei swallowed. "Am I crazy, or do I see what I think I see?"

Viscen just nodded dumbly.

"I wouldn't worry too much," a young voice said to Kei's right. It was Sond.

"Huh?" Kei sounded a little stunned, unable to tear himself from the spectacle.

"Yeah, she's right," Chiron said, smirking.

"We're not in any danger. Not really, anyway," Link added.

"He's here to help, you see," Kat added.

"And rather fortunate too-" Ty started.

"Cau' Veneer wa' gonn' catch 'em eventua'lly ot'erwise…" Nick finished.

"Who? What?" Ana managed some coherent thought.

Kafei explained. "Tee an' Tim are gonna be alright. He's giving them a ride out of town, you see…" The purple haired boy grinned widely along with the rest of his friends, pointing towards the Clock Tower.

"You mean, they're hitching a ride on that…_dragon_?" Kei could barely choke out the word.

"We have a winner," Link smirked. "Keep watching, this is about to get interesting…"

**-;O;-**

Veneer could only stare helplessly as he watched the wolves clamber onto the dragon's snout, head up the muzzle, and finally settle themselves firmly in at the base of one of the curving horns, amid the tufts of feathery hair. Throat bobbing slightly, Veneer's legs finally gave way as the dragon glared directly at him. For a moment, it looked like Veneer was going to say something-

"Hmph!"

Then the dragon snorted contemptuously in the hunter's direction, and Veneer was blasted off his feet. His weapon fell down harmlessly as Veneer tumbled backwards off the ledge. He rolled down the ramp, coming gently to a stop in a senseless heap at the bottom.

The dragon yawned, as if it found this uninteresting. Then just as suddenly, it lifted its head, staring upwards. The two small passengers whooped, clinging tightly as they were suddenly thrust up towards the starry night sky.

The dragon gathered itself up like a cat getting ready to pounce, and then sprang into the air, its wings snapping open just as it cleared the rooftops. The wings beat, and a massive downdraft made a wind that blew a sudden gale through the crowded square, playfully whirlwinding dust and loose leaves about. Flames flickered and guttered wildly in a fight to stay alight. The wind slowly died away as the dragon, having gained enough altitude, banked its wings into a glide. It circled the Tower thrice, and then with a thundering trill, flung itself upward, climbing into the dark sky. Its silver shape slowly melded with the sky as it drew further and further away from the torchlight. Now it was melting into the clouds…Going…going…gone.

**-;O;-**

The crowd below was completely stunned. Nothing could be heard except the sputtering of upset torches, and the vague rustle as everything that was upset by the downdraft slowly fluttered to the ground. Then, like a wave of rippling grass in a sudden strong wind, the crowd reacted.

It started with just a single man towards the back of the crowd, clapping slowly. A few companions, then an entire group, slowly joined him. Then with a swell, the entire crowd erupted into applause, cheering, and catcalls.

Nobody cheered louder than a certain group of children, and their adult companions.

Onstage, confusion ran absolute. The head of the Zora band was talking animatedly to both Mayor Dotour and Madame Aroma, assuring them that they certainly hadn't planned on any special effects during their performance. Madame Aroma threw her hands up in the air, and both the Mayor and the Zora flinched.

A violet-haired adult detached himself from the crowd, jogging over to the group of children. It was Kafei's older brother.

"Kaf," The man gasped, breathlessly. "Did you see-"

"Sure did," Kafei said smilingly, as his brother joined the group.

"I needed to make sure I wasn't going insane, or having some sort of wild dream," Big Kafei wheezed. "But apparently I'm not dreaming…" He put a hand to his forehead. "And I don't seem to be feverish…"

"Calm down, dear," Ana smiled benignly. Kafei snickered.

"And you," Big Kafei stared down at his little brother. "Where have _you_ been during all this? Haven't seen you all day practically…"

"Oh, this and that…practicing for the competition and stuff…y'know…delivering stuff." Kafei scuffed a boot against cobblestones.

He didn't have any chance to come up with any further excuse, as Mayor Dotour and Madame Aroma arrived amongst the unruly audience. Having found no explanation on the stage, had preempted to the next best thing.

"Captain Viscen!" Mayor Dotour wobbled perilously. "An explanation, if you please!"

"Indeed!' Madame Aroma huffed, stooping and practically crushing her youngest son in a giant hug. "Hello, dear."

"Mom, I can't breathe…" Kafei choked desperately.

Mayor Dotour wore a vexed expression, looking to his Captain for support. "I hope that…everything has gone well…"

"The situation has been taken care of," Viscen said accurately.

"Good! Good! Excellent news," Dotour looked slightly less anxious. "Now…can you possibly offer any explanation for…tonight's events?"

"Well…uh…" Viscen stumbled over himself, unable to think of anything to say. "Er…"

"What Captain Viscen means to say, Dad," Kafei started, prying himself away from motherly torture, "is that everything is perfectly fine. The…illusion, it was kind of an idea me and my friends had…We got some help from Kei and Ana…they're wonderful at illusions-"

Kei and Ana coughed gently, and the children all laughed nervously.

"Well, it really was our fault," Kafei admitted, guardedly. "It was supposed to be a surprise…you and Mom have worked so hard to make this Festival great, and we thought maybe for once you needed a surprise of your own…"

Mayor Dotour, his wife, and his older son exchanged a trio of glances. "Well," Dotour finally said, after a moment's contemplation. "It _was_ quite a surprise…"

"Glad to know everything was under control…" Big Kafei added.

"But next time, please inform us before you plan on doing anything so…_spectacular_…" Madame Aroma finished, leveling a stern gaze at her younger son. Turning to the illusionists, she congratulated them. "I must say, that illusion was most impressive. And so _realistic_!" The woman shook both Kei and Ana's hands. "We simply _must _have you back for the next festival! I'm simply astounded by how you were able to make something just appear and disappear so suddenly…and the wind effects and everything…"

Kei just smiled and nodded as his arm was pumped vigorously up and down. "Trade secret, ma'am. Trade secret…"


	15. Epilogue

An Act to Follow — Epilogue: All's well that ends well (sort of)

The next morning was atypical for midsummer - a little bit on the chilly side, and rather damp. It had rained overnight. The green grass of Termina Field outside the walls of Clock Town was quite burdened and beaded, and when disturbed, the excess moisture scattered into colorful drops on the wide misty plain. Contrasted with a gray and somewhat overcast day, this meant only one thing.

"My feet are getting wet!" Link complained. "It's soaking right through my boots!" He shook one foot while balancing on the other, and then inverted his posture to repeat with the other foot.

"Why are you complaining so much?" Ty said. "It's no worse then the mornings a few months ago…all those rainy days…or more appropriately, the same rainy day over and over again…at least it's warmer now than it was then."

"Yeah," Tatl giggled. "And it's always like this in the Southern swamp…"

"Well, it was spring, at least the weather had an excuse then…" Link replied primly. "You can't see anything in this mist…"

Kat and Sond both rolled their eyes, following sedately behind the group. After the events of the previous night, everyone had gone to bed in an exhausted heap back at Kafei's house. Unfortunately, tension and anxiety over their friends' welfare had caused them to rise early, even though it wasn't really that necessary.

"So why do we have to go out _now_ again?" Chiron asked.

"Well," Sond started, "Aren't you the least bit curious about certain people…don't you want make sure they're okay?"

"Well, yeah," Kafei took over, "But I mean, what if Kas took them _really_ far away…they could be all the way across Termina for all we know."

"I doubt it," Ty yawned, stretching. His tail curled slightly upwards so that it wouldn't brush the tips of the grass and get wet. "The whole 'dissappearing into the sky' thing was kind of just for show."

Nick grinned. "I thin' anythin' would've impress'd 'em, actu'ally…" The redhead mused. "Well, thin' o' places tha' a dragon cou' lan' easy wi'out problems…"

"What about Romani Ranch?" Tael suggested. "That's pretty huge…"

"Maybe," Kat said. "But I doubt it. If Kas landed there he'd give the cows and horses an awful fright…just imagine Romani and Cremia's reactions…"

Kafei laughed as he put on a falsetto voice. "'They' are back! Romani will shoot it with her bow!'"

"No, Kas definitely wouldn't like that," Ty thought aloud. "Where else?"

"Well, Snowhead's out…" Chiron said. "And Great Bay doesn't seem too likely, the beach is too sandy for a good landing, and well, you can't exactly land _on_ the ocean…"

"Same problem with the Southern Swamp…" Link said from the front. "And I dunno about Ikana Valley…"

"Pamela's dad certainly would enjoy it though…" Kat mused. "Imagine if he saw a dragon at his doorstep? He'd faint from shock!"

"Hey guys…" Kafei shook them out of conversation. "What's that up ahead?"

They all squinted and peered ahead. Situated below the wooden archway that denoted the entrance to Milk Road and Romani Ranch was a tight circle of carts, wagons, and other wheeled vehicles of all shapes, colors and sizes. They poked haphazardly out of the misty, dewy landscape like oddly-shaped hills, some of them with two wheels, most four, a few six. Many were equipped with hitching for teams of draft animals.

"This must be the merchants' caravans," Kafei remarked. "They're too big for the city streets, so they had to store them out here."

One small but brightly painted brush wagon seemed to stand out. It was old - sky-blue, smooth and weather-worn - but neat and tidy, with a gently curving roof, four sturdy walls, a small door in the front, and a set of four wide-spoked wheels.

"I think that we forgot one rather obvious place for them to land," Kafei finished. "How about right _in_ the field?" He pointed out.

As they approached, the mist cleared a little, and they were able to make out the caped form of Kasumi, who was leaning against the colorful cart. As they approached, they were unsurprised to find that he was already awake, although there was a yawn apparent in his eyes.

"Good morning," he said quietly, as if last night's events had been perfectly normal.

"Morning!" Kat and Sond squeaked.

"Mornin'," Nick mumbled.

"Morning," Link grumbled, still irritable about his wet boots.

"Uh…so…yeah?" Kafei said hesitantly.

"Right," Ty said, looking to his older brother. "About…"

"They're fine," Kasumi said, answering the unasked question. He gestured underneath the cart. They all stooped and looked underneath.

Behind one of the large wheels, probably to keep out of the damp, were Timbre and Tejina. They were leaning back to back in human form, and both of them were fast asleep. Sond and Kat found themselves unexpectedly attacked by a fit of the giggles.

"How adorably precious," Link said after a moment, a bit mockingly.

Smirking, Nick murmured something conspiratorially to Chiron. After a moment's contemplation, Chiron nodded, and the two shook hands.

"Course, I think I'd be zonked out like that too after last night…and the past few days…"

"Whassat?" Timbre, who was the one closest to them, stirred in mid-snore, opening one green eye blearily. After a moment, he yawned. "Oh, it's you…" he said, not quite altogether.

"Good morning…" Kat said gently. "Uh, we brought back your coat. You left it behind last night." Kat unslung the garment from over her shoulder.

"Oh. Thanks," Timbre said, stretching and trying to stand up. Unfortunately, he forgot where he was. The top of his head collided with the bottom of the cart. He leaned suddenly forwards, wincing and clutching at his head. Tejina, suddenly with nothing supporting her back except open air, promptly fell backwards with a grunt.

Tejina wasn't amused. Her eyes snapped open irritably. She groaned and pulled herself into a kneeling position, rubbing the back of her head, which had hit the ground rather hard. She growled incoherently.

Timbre sheepishly accepted the overcoat from Kat. "Thanks."

Meanwhile, Link was examining the small wagon. In many ways it looked much like a miniature house, complete with little windows. It was painted sky blue, with white and violet trimmings. The hitch of the cart stood sturdily upright, although it was currently unattached to anything.

"Who do you think this belongs to?" Link said, while Tatl flew circles around it, inspecting the wagon from all sides.

Tejina blinked blearily, still rubbing her head. "Read the side," she mumbled.

"What did she say?" Link raised an eyebrow.

"She said 'Read the side,'" Tatl clarified, bopping him lightly on the head. Link did so, squinting at the neatly painted text.

"'Meimu?'"

"That's Kei, Ana's, and Tee's last name," Tatl clarified. "This belongs to them."

Link smirked. "Oh. Neat. Wonder what's in-"

"Don't even think about it, Mr. Hero. It's locked. Anyway, s'nothing interesting." Tejina grumpily leaned back, shivered, and closed her eyes, muttering. Moments later she was asleep again.

Link scowled. "How can someone fall asleep like that?"

"I think," Kat blinked, "That I'd fall asleep pretty quickly if I was really tired, too."

Timbre yawned. "Speakin' of…I think I'm gonna go back to sleep too…Thanks for getting my coat back. It was a bit chilly out here…"

Tatl hovered over him. "You and my brother both, insisting on sleeping late…"

"Meh," Timbre grumbled, lying down again, this time with the coat pulled over his head.

"And we'll not see him for days," Sond giggled. "Come on, let's let them have a little shut-eye. Anybody else up for breakfast? I'm starving, myself."

**-;O;-**

Two hours later, the group arrived back at the encampment, this time fed, though no less grumpy. Since the mist had started to burn off, Link couldn't complain about wet boots anymore. The childrens' ire instead had a newer target.

"_Third place_," Link said, gruffly.

For once, the Hylian got no argument from Ty. "Yeah, what gives?"

Chiron shrugged moodily. "I think that contest was rigged," he grumbled.

"Then again," Sond said philosophically, "maybe it's for the best that we weren't the center of attention."

"And after last night, I guess we should feel fortunate that losing a _contest_ is the worst of our problems," said Kafei.

Ty idly kicked the ground. "Well, you certainly can't say the past few days were uneventful," he murmured, leaning back with his hands clasped behind his neck. "We stopped a crazed hunter, we played pretty well, and I got revenge on Link. All and all, not a bad time, eh?"

Link glowered. "It wasn't _that_ great of a revenge…It was just smelly glop. _My_ pranks were much better!" He stuck his nose up in the air. Tatl was noticeably absent from her normal orbit around the Hylian boy's hat. She and Tael had decided to take off on 'other business,' as they had called it.

"Yeah, but mine stuck around longer," Ty said. "Yours just irritated me for a little while, while your clothes'll be stained like that for a while. And don't forget the flies…"

Link had spent quite some time scrubbing sand into his clothes that morning. It had made the entire front of the forest green tunic look blotchy and wrinkled. "Yeah, well, I'll send you the laundry bill, Monkey Boy." he finished.

"Don't call me that." Ty scowled.

"Er, if I could interrupt your conversation," Kafei said quickly, "I think we've got a problem."

"What?" Chiron looked up.

Kafei pointed towards the wagons. "Look over there."

There was quite a bit more going on at the entrance to Milk Road then there had been earlier. For one thing, both Timbre and Tejina were now fully awake. They stood nervously side-by-side, watching the Meimu wagon where Kasumi, Ana, and Kei stood in conversation with a man bedecked in shiny, gold-trimmed armor. It was Captain Viscen.

"Uh-oh…" They ran the rest of the way. As they drew near, Tejina and Timbre both looked over and waved.

"Hey!" Tejina seemed more chipper, and less cranky now that she'd slept properly.

"Uh," Sond began, eyes roving over towards the talking adults. "What're they talking about?"

Timbre, who was looking a bit downcast, shrugged.

"We don't know," Tejina admitted, looking a little worried. "They've been at it a half-hour, and they won't let us in on it."

"I think I know why he's here," Timbre said quietly. "It must be because of me."

As if on cue, Captain Viscen glanced their way. His eyes lit up as he saw them. "Ah! Here they are, finally!" The adults ambled over, and Kat heard Timbre audibly swallow.

"Er, 'ey," Nick murmured, squinting as Viscen's helmet glinted in the mid-morning sun. "'Ow're you?"

Viscen blinked, taking in the boy's accent. "Good, thank you. I've been wanting to speak to you all."

Timbre shuffled uneasily as Viscen knelt down on the soft grass, getting down to eye level with his audience. Clearing his throat importantly, he began.

"I wanted to see you all here before I made any decision. Now, first off, I want to say I'm very glad that the events of last night didn't end in any tragedies, and I want to apologize to you all about Veneer's unprofessional behavior."

"Speaking of Veneer," Chiron said uneasily. "Uh, what happened to him?"

Viscen smiled humorlessly. "He came by me very early this morning, accepted his pay, and was subsequently dismissed from my service. He left Clock Town immediately thereafter, heading north."

"Wait," Chiron scowled, "You _paid_ him?!"

"Of course," Viscen frowned. "I commissioned him to do a job, which he did successfully complete, I might add. I do not go back on contracts."

"But he tried to-"

"That is unimportant. However, if I'd known-" He shook his head. "That's not what I'm here about. By now you all know that Timbre is charged with-"

"You're _still_ on about that?!" Ty suddenly blurted. "After all that we've _been_ through?!" The Volcanian's tail lashed angrily.

"Calm down." Kasumi's voice wafted from the trio of adults, who had so far stood in silence. "Let him speak."

Viscen nodded. "Thank you. As I was saying, you are aware of the charges."

"But it was just a _crate_!" Ty protested.

"That's not the point," Viscen sighed.

"He's not bad!" Kat objected.

"We were involved too!" Kafei added.

"He paid you back!" Chiron pointed out.

"Bein' a _lobo_ ain' a crime!" Nick argued.

"…could've been anyone!" Sond finished.

Kasumi sighed. "_Please_. Let the Captain speak."

"Again, thank you." Viscen took off his helmet, looking Timbre in the eye. "Now then. Timbre, do you accept full responsibility for your actions and the consequences thereof?" The Captain's eyes were serious.

The young boy in question swallowed hard, but he held the man's gaze as he nodded. "I do."

Viscen produced a heavily crumpled, ink-stained piece of parchment. "Did you write this, and leave it along with compensation to be found at the scene?"

Timbre gazed self-consciously at his poor spelling. "Yes sir," he admitted.

Viscen's eyes narrowed. "And your friends, were they involved in any way with your trespass and vandalism?"

"No, sir."

"Very well then," Viscen intoned, standing up straight, and replacing his helmet. "I have made my decision."

All the non-adults sighed audibly, and Timbre looked a bit crestfallen, staring at the ground. After everything that had happened, it would've been wishful thinking there would be no consequences. He might've escaped from the frying pan, but it looked like he was about to land directly in the fire. Resignedly, he closed his eyes.

"I've decided to let you off with a warning."

"_What_?!" Nine pairs of eyes snapped open wide as Viscen spoke.

"As Captain, I keep the law, and the protection and safety of Clock Town's citizens are the forefront of that law. However, there are times when the law cannot see what a simple man _can_ see, and that is why a lawkeeper must also strive to be a judge of character," Viscen intoned. "Timbre, even though you are technically guilty of trespass, vandalism, and…ah, poor spelling-"

Timbre fidgeted uncomfortably.

"-and considering your nature being, er-"

"Un-ord'nary?" Nick suggested innocently, as Timbre fidgeted further.

"Un-ordinary," Viscen agreed gently, "You've also shown the integrity that many lack. When given the opportunity to thrust the blame on others who were so willing to accept it, you resisted and instead accepted your own shortcomings, admitting the fault that was rightly yours. That takes character. Therefore, I will let you off on a warning. This time. Do not let me catch you betraying my trust."

"Yes sir!" Timbre half-squeaked, relief making his knees slightly weak.

"As for your, er, nature-"

Timbre's relief abruptly reeled back into nervousness.

"I cannot say that I personally approve of deception, nor can I speak for all of those who live in Clock Town, however I do appreciate that publicly revealing your true nature might cause some, er, complications-"

"Can you really blame me for keeping it quiet, sir?" Timbre asked awkwardly.

"That is why I feel it is something that should be yours to disclose at your own will," Viscen agreed. "However, I do urge you to at least inform the Mayor and his wife. As the parents of your friend, and as public officials, I believe they would appreciate the gesture."

Kafei looked a bit pale. "Are you absolutely sure about that idea, sir?"

The Captain chuckled. "I wouldn't worry yourself too much, young Mr. Dotour. Your father has lots of experience with diversity."

"It's not _him_ I'm worried about," Kafei muttered under his breath.

"Now, as for the rest of you." Viscen looked slightly stern.

This time, everybody flinched.

"It is commendable how loyal you are to each other. You should all consider yourselves lucky that you have such true friends," Viscen said with a small smile. "Most aren't nearly as fortunate."

"Aw," Link smirked.

"Wa' nuthin'," Nick said, grinning.

"We've been through so much it's like being a family," Sond added.

"We all would do the same for any of us!" Kat piped.

"We're pretty tight knit," Chiron finished.

"As for the extraordinary events that resulted in your timely escapes last night…" Viscen began, "I ask for no explanation. As far as I'm officially concerned, that was merely an illusion, brilliantly dreamt up by Madam Ana and Mister Keisou."

"Thank you," Kas said softly.

"Miss Tejina," Viscen looked down at the little girl, "I don't know how I can apologize for what Veneer put you through-"

Tejina looked slightly abashed. "Please, you don't have to."

"I still would like to claim responsibility," the Captain said. "Please do not let the unfortunate mistakes of one man sour your opinion of Clock Town."

"Veneer? He-"

"I meant _my_ mistakes, miss." Viscen nodded and straightened. "Well, unfortunately, duty calls. I believe I have work to do back in Clock Town, as I still must deal with that scoundrel Sakon. He's really outdone himself this time…"

"What did he do?" Kafei asked curiously.

Viscen sighed wearily. "Pickpocketing. Wish I could throw that burglar out of my city for good." He looked up. "Anyhow, I have to go deal with him. I suppose you will be moving on later today?" The Captain shook hands with Kei and Ana.

"That's the plan, sir," Ana smiled.

"Well, good luck in Labrynna, if it's anything like the show you put on for Clock Town, you'll dazzle them!"

The Captain shook hands with Kasumi, and then stooped to shake hands with each of the children. When he got to Timbre, he paused with his hand out. "Even after seeing it though that lens, it is still so hard to imagine that you're-"

In response, Timbre wordlessly handed his overcoat to Kafei.

Viscen stared wonderingly at the black and white creature blinking up at him with intelligent green eyes. Solemnly, the wolf pup raised his right forepaw and placed it in the Captain's outstretched hand. They shook.

The Captain straightened, nodded wordlessly, and then strolled off importantly in the direction of his city, clanking with every step. They all watched him go. After a while, Ana turned to the group.

"You should consider yourselves _incredibly_ fortunate," Ana said seriously. "Viscen was ultimately a very understanding individual. He could have, and maybe should have pressed charges against all of you."

"Well," Sond squeaked, "What could he have done? I mean, arrest us because a crate fell over?"

"Certainly. The area was off limits. And you all were helping a lawbreaker escape from justice. Even if he'd forgiven the vandalism and your interference, he _still_ could have easily seen Timbre and Tejina as a threat to public safety," Ana said deftly as both named parties looked away, "He could have sided with Veneer's views. However, he's been very accepting, and that is very fortunate."

"And he'll certainly be keeping everyone here under a close watch from now on," Kei added.

"Are you really going to tell my parents about this, Tim?" Kafei asked, hesitantly, handing the overcoat back to the boy as he changed back into human form. "I mean, Mom might tweak out or something…"

"I'm going to have to deal with it sooner or later," Timbre admitted. "Not something I'm exactly looking forward to…"

"That makes two of us," Kafei muttered darkly.

"Now! Miss Tee!" Kei whooped suddenly and swept his little sister up into his arms, "You've got a lot of explaining to do…"

"Yeah, " Link said, turning to Timbre. "How _does_ it feel to be such a colossal idiot?"

Timbre frowned mischievously. "Guess now I know how you feel most of the time."

"Exactl-_hey_!"

Tejina squeaked, still squirming in her brother's arms. "Nothing to explain!" She gasped between giggles. "Most've it was just running away and lying low!"

Ana scowled. "And I suppose that leaving that back room when you knew it was dangerous, going to the most populated part of the city, and then _jumping on stage in front of the entire town_ is your idea of lying low," she said sternly. "What in Nayru's name gave you _that_ brilliant idea?"

"Actually," Timbre admitted bashfully. "That was _my_ idea."

"But he wouldn't have been able to if I hadn't stolen that key," Tejina finished, her voice growing serious as she slipped back down to the ground. "So we're _both_ colossal idiots. I guess we just got a little carried away."

Ana sighed. "You're just lucky you weren't caught." As an afterthought, she added, "Well, injured. Technically you _were_ caught. If Viscen hadn't come-"

She stopped as she looked at the crestfallen faces of the two children. The corner of her mouth twitched slightly, almost as if she were trying to hide a smile. "Anyhow, I suppose all of this had one good point —you two aren't fighting anymore."

"How did you know we were-"

"I'm not stupid, you know." Ana said.

"Yeah, and neither are us!" Link added.

"Neither are _we_," Sond corrected Link. "We saw the way you two were acting yesterday."

"Yeah, you two could've curdled milk with those scowls," Chiron said. "Isn't it better to get along, eh?"

Timbre and Tejina glanced at each other.

"Maybe," the girl admitted.

"Sort of," the boy agreed grudgingly. "You're not so bad…"

Tejina chewed her lip. "And you aren't so bad either."

Kei just laughed. The awkward looks on their faces was rather humorous, and he ran a hand through his hair, smiling. "I'm glad you two won't be parting ways as _complete_ enemies…"

Timbre made a face. Then he changed the subject. "Okay, so how _did_ that trick with the box work, anyway?" He said suddenly, whirling on Tejina.

Tejina blinked. "Haven't I told you a bunch of times? _It's a_ _secret_. You don't go about telling people how you pull off tricks, 'cause then they aren't amazing any more. If you want to know so badly, maybe you should put that brain of yours to work and try figuring it out on your own." Then as an afterthought, she added, "And _no_ spying, considering what a mess you made last time."

Timbre scowled. "You're a spoilsport," he grumbled.

"And you're stubborn," she retorted.

Moments later, the two pups were playfully wrestling shoulder to shoulder in the grass, one of them frantically trying to disentangle himself from the overcoat that refused to respond to the changing of its owner's form. After a moment of commotion, the two dashed off among the wagons.

Ana smiled. "I really am glad Tee finally got to meet one of her own kind."

Kei nodded in agreement. "Maybe someday we'll find her family."

"But, _you_ are her family," Kat said. "Just because you're human and she isn't doesn't make her care any less for you…" The girl trailed off awkwardly as the two adults turned and gazed at her.

"This is true," Ana admitted finally, watching the two four-legged shapes as they dashed between the wheels of the Meimu wagon. "But it's good to finally see one lonely little girl discovering that she's not quite as alone as she thought."

**-;O;-**

The rest of that morning (and half the afternoon as well) was spent in quiet relaxation out in front of Milk Road. As the mists burned away and the sun finally began to show its face through the clouds, many of the merchants began arriving at the caravan, claiming and packing up their wagons. A steady line of mules, ponies, and other draftsbeasts were trickling in with their owners from the road leading to Romani Ranch, where they had been boarded during the festival. Many of the carts had already been hitched up and pulled away, their owners desiring a head start on the weather. They had good reasoning; even halfway through the morning it was already quite hot and humid.

It was becoming quickly evident that it was going to be the kind of day where one desired nothing more than to simply refrain from moving as much as possible.

Kasumi, Kei, and Ana leaned quietly against the Meimu wagon, engrossed in quiet conversation. Nearby, seven children lay back in the grass, staring at puffy white clouds set heavily in a tapestry of bright blue.

"The weather here is so weird," Link remarked, as they all stared upwards. "One season it's bitterly cold, the next it's hot, and then it'll rain for a week. Hyrule's weather was never this fickle."

"Well," Ty said around a mouthful of sandwich, "At least this climate varies. Back home, we've got two types of weather: raining, or not. Gets kind of old after a while."

Nick grinned. "Aye_. _Changin' ain' so bad n'all.""

"So will you take us to Volcania some time?" Sond asked, leaning back wistfully.

"Er, uh, maybe…" Ty said vaguely, as if he didn't really want to discuss travel plans at the moment. "S'nothing special, really."

"I'd really like to see where you and Nick came from sometime."

Neither Volcanian answered her, and the resulting silence bordered on awkwardness.

"So where's Tim and Tee?" Kafei asked, changing the subject.

"Tim's prolly hiding from the horses," Link said, with a hint of amusement. "You know he's scared of them."

"Yeah, they're off thataways, somewhere," Chiron responded, waving his hand vaguely towards a distant patch of field. Safely away from the wagon activity, clumps of tall grass waved gently between patches of mist. "You can see the grass moving."

"Oh yeah, I see them too," Sond remarked, sitting up. "What _are _they up to?"

Kat also rose into a sit, shaking her head to clear it. After a few moments she saw a wolf's head pop into view, only to suddenly disappear back into the grass an instant later. It took her a few observations of this behavior before she realized what was going on. "Oh. I think they're hunting mice," Kat said finally.

"Eeuch," came Nick's grunt of disgust. "_Lobos_."

"Aw, let them be," Link said, twitching his nose irritably as a passing butterfly attempted to land on it. "It's probably a nice change for them, to have someone around with something in common…and she's leaving today, so it's their last chance to be together."

"That's very perceptive of you," Sond remarked sincerely.

"Well…I just figure if it were me, I'd want to enjoy it while I could."

"Still waters run deep," Ty teased, earning a halfhearted glare from the Hylian.

"Well, I have been thinking a lot about things lately," Link admitted. "When we were telling Tee and her brother about the Carnival of Time the other day, it hit me. The reason I never want to talk about last spring."

The other six children said nothing in reply, though the astonishment was clear on their faces. It was the first time Link had ever brought up the subject on his own.

Link continued. "We're still just kids, but we've already been through more and seen things that most adults never will. We've battled monsters, and seen the future. I'm carrying a relic in my pocket, and there's the mark of _something_ _that I don't quite understand_ dwelling in my left hand. We've met _gods_. We saw the world end, and then _stopped_ _it from happening_. After Hyrule, after Termina, and all…well, it's no use trying to ignore it. I just get the feeling this…_adventuring_ stuff is becoming a pattern, and that I just shouldn't dwell on it. So I just want to enjoy these quiet moments while I _can_."

"'Becoming a pattern?'" Sond's brows furrowed.

"It's… something the Princess said when she lent me the ocarina, but I didn't really understand at the time what she meant. I mean, do you really think it was a coincidence that we just so _happened _to show up in Clock Town three days before the moon crashed, with the one object with the power to stop it? You see what I mean?"

"Hmm," Sond and Kat both nodded slowly.

"You think your Princess knew that was going to happen?" Ty asked, for once not sounding derisive towards the Hylian.

"I…don't know, and I'm not sure I want to, not yet." Link sighed finally, closing his eyes. "Ugh. Look, what I mean is, let's just all try and enjoy today while it lasts. If we're lucky, tomorrow will be nice too."

"Oh! I think she got one," Chiron suddenly remarked, looking towards the tall grass. Tejina's gray head popped triumphantly into view, with something clenched between her jaws.

Nick made another small noise of disgust, which was quietly ignored.

A moment later, the wolf spat out a clump of long tufty grass seeds, and Timbre's laughter rang out across the fields as a short bark.

"Or maybe not," Chiron said.

**-;O;-**

Most of the wagons were gone. Timbre and Tejina had rejoined the rest of the group as they took turns attempting to skip stones in a nearby pond. Kei, and Ana walked over.

"Tee," Ana said softly, "We're going to be heading out in an hour. We've got to get to Labrynna by next week for our next show."

"Mmm," came the girl's acquiescence.

Link looked over in mid toss. His stone splashed noisily into the pond. "What's going on in Labrynna?"

Kei smiled over his shoulder as he and Ana headed back towards the cart. "Termina isn't the only place that has a festival during the summer. A few of the entertainment troupes go on a circuit together, so we're not all traveling alone."

"Ah." Link searched for a new stone.

"I just wish I weren't the only kid on it," Tejina said sulkily. "Adults are so _boring _sometimes."

"They're not so bad," Sond said. "Where Link and I came from, there aren't any adults, at least not what you'd consider adults. I guess if you aren't used to something, you find it more interesting."

"That does make sense," Tejina admitted, garnering a snort from Timbre.

"So what did you two have to talk about anyway?" the Hylian interrupted.

Tejina wrinkled her nose mischievously. "How to get rid of fleas," she answered.

There were several sniggers at this, and Link frowned. "Okay, I get it. Sorry. But you were gone a while, so you must have had something to talk about…"

"I was telling her about where I came from," Timbre declared abruptly.

This statement garnered half a dozen looks of surprise.

"What's wrong?" Tejina asked.

"Well, even _we_'_ve_ never heard about that," Kafei said finally.

"Yeah, every time we ask he just says, 'it doesn't matter.'" Link frowned suspiciously. "So what did he-"

"Link," both Sond and Ty said at the same time. Link frowned.

"Well, why did you tell her and not us?" the Hylian asked Timbre.

"Well, to be frank-" Timbre said hesitantly, looking askance at Tejina. She nodded slightly. "Tee hasn't had a lot of…contact with…our kind before."

Chiron sent a stone skipping along with a deft flick of his wrist. "How's that?"

Tejina fidgeted with a stone. "Er, I'd rather not get into details, but the point is until I came here, I'd never seen another wolf before. Or at least if I had I was too young to remember. So I hadn't the faintest idea who or what I really was supposed to be."

"So for all you knew, you were just some one of a kind freak?" Chiron asked in slight amazement.

"Something like that," Tejina replied quietly, staring forwards at the pond, a stone loosely gripped in her gloved hand.

Timbre shot Chiron an exasperated look. "When I first met you all, remember all the human things I had no clue about?"

"Like balancing on two legs?" Link smirked.

"Yes," the boy responded guiltily.

"And the color red?"

"Yes, bu-"

"Oh, and don't forget-oof!" Link wheezed as Sond's elbow connected with his stomach.

"Anyway," Timbre sighed. "I mean, you even had to teach me how to _throw_ things-" Here he awkwardly swung his arm towards the pond. His stone bounced off the soggy bank and rolled into the water. Tejina started to laugh, but quickly covered her mouth.

"You're working on it," Kat offered kindly.

"Ugh. Point is, there's a lot I didn't know, and-"

"-and I'm the same way." Tejina finished. "So I had a lot of catching up to do. I still do."

"May'ap you'm runnin' in t'more _lobos_ on th' road," Nick offered.

"I mean, it isn't like your kind's extinct or anything," Ty said, nodding at Nick's comment. He suddenly flushed slightly. "Er, because Veneer did mention he'd run into your kind before-"

"He didn't exactly give us glowing reviews," Timbre muttered sullenly. "_Mouse-crunching parasites of civilization_…"

"He's also _crazy_," Sond pointed out.

Timbre just shook his head. "I don't think he was lying though. He _has_ run into our kind before, and it hasn't enhanced his opinion of us very much."

"He's probably just saying that to-"

"Look, maybe he was, maybe he wasn't, but the point is, wolves are not perfect. We're not supernaturally good, or evil, any more than anyone is. You guys've been around _me_ long enough to know that…I just want to make sure Tee doesn't have any unrealistic expectations," Timbre glanced over at Tejina seriously. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"Hey," Tejina looked askance at Timbre. "Wasn't it _you_ who told me not even a day ago that it isn't what we are, but what we choose to be that matters? As far as I care, that guy can go eat an Octorock. I am what I am, and I'm _not_ going to live up to his expectations."

"Point made," Timbre said. "But I'm not giving up mice."

"Mor' fool ye," Nick grumbled.

**-;O;-**

The next hour seemed to pass in a flash. After they grew bored of skipping stones, Tejina showed all of them some simple slight-of hand maneuvers, making it look as if she could conjure Rupees out of thin air. In actuality, it was Kafei's money, which, unbeknownst to him, she'd filched from his pocket. It took them all a while to figure out the money's origin, and afterwards Kafei became a bit flustered, muttering something about getting buttoned pockets.

"Don't want to lose any more keys, do we?" was all Tejina would say in reply.

Kafei just grumbled.

And then suddenly, just like that, the wagon was completely packed, and it was time for the trio of illusionists to leave. Kei and Ana's goodbyes were thankful and sincere.

"Thank you all, and Kafei, thank your parents especially for having us."

"No problem," Kafei answered for all of them, "And you can expect that we'll be wanting you back for next year's festival!" He grinned. "They'll want a repeat of last night, you see…"

Kei and Ana exchanged a look. "Guess we'll have to figure out a way to do that one, eh?" Ana grinned sheepishly as she stepped into the front of the cart.

"Guess so," Kei grinned, lifting the hitch easily in one hand.

"You're gonna pull that whole cart all the way to Labrynna?" Sond said, blue eyes wide in amazement.

"Oh goodness no," Kei said, laughing. "Just to Romani Ranch. I'm a strong man, but not _that_ strong. We'll hitch up our mules there. Come on, Tee…"

"One second!" Tejina had visibly hung back. Turning towards the other eight children, she grinned. "I'm terrible with goodbyes. You'd think I'd be used to it by now. I just wanted to say thank you for showing me such a good time. Usually I don't get to meet this many people, and well…it was fun." She fidgeted awkwardly, scuffing one boot on the ground.

"Hey Tee, come on, please!" Ana's voice called out.

"Right! Coming!" the girl turned away.

"Wait," Timbre said suddenly, stumbling forward.

"Hm?" The girl stopped and looked back at him.

Timbre closed his eyes and held out his hand awkwardly. "Well, we _did_ argue a lot, and get into fights, but we did make it out of Clock Town in one piece…I just wanted to make sure, before we parted ways, that…we parted ways as friends."

Tejina hesitated, but then she smiled widely. Walking over to him, she clasped his proffered hand. "Friends," she repeated, leaning in close.

Since Timbre's eyes were closed, he didn't notice what the girl was doing until he felt her lips lightly brush his cheek. His eyes snapped open in shock.

"Uh…bye!" Tejina let go of his hand and quickly dashed away, running to catch up to the cart, which had started to move.

Timbre sat down heavily.

Sond and Kat were attacked by a sudden fit of the giggles, and even the boys couldn't help but smirk at the sight, though Chiron rolled his eyes as he passed a red Rupee to Nick.

"I think you _broke_ him," Link called indignantly after Tejina.

Tejina laughed as she sprang up onto the cart alongside Ana. "Well, I'll apologize next time I'm around!" She yelled to them, waving.

"Off to Labrynna! Ho!" Kei threw his weight forward, and the cart's wheels turned smoothly. As the cart trundled off, all the kids (the conscious ones, anyway) waved and shouted their goodbyes.

"Up 'y go, _lobo!_" Nick grunted, as he and Ty each grabbed one of Timbre's arms and hauled him into a standing position. "Can' stay 'ere all 'fternoon!"

Timbre, still shell-shocked, finally managed to blink. "Eep."

"Come on," Ty grunted. "Snap out of it!"

"Yeah, look alive, Timbe!"

Link's insult succeeded, and the boy's eyes abruptly lost their glazed look. "Don't call me tha-huh?" Timbre stopped. "What? What happened?"

"Don't you remember?" Sond's smirk was delightfully smug.

"Gross," Timbre began rubbing at his 'befouled' cheek with a scowl.

Sond and Kat started tittering again, and they all laughed.

"It's not funny!" Timbre growled irritably.

"Why, dear master Timbe," Link teased, putting on airs. "I do believe you are blushing."

"Am not!" Timbre self-consciously clapped both hands over his face.

"They aren't exactly lying," Kafei pointed out solemnly.

"Rrgh!"

"Okay, okay, lay off," Ty said finally, after regaining his own composure. He clapped Timbre on the back. "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. Let's head back to town and find a late lunch."

There were several sounds of agreement at this, and they turned their backs on Milk Road. With a little convincing, Timbre finally pulled his hands away from his face.

"Well, all's well that ends well, or something like that," he said quietly.

Kat frowned slightly. "You say that as if it was a bad thing."

Timbre merely shrugged noncommittally. Ahead of them, Link and Ty were already entrenched in a heated argument over where to go for lunch.

"She'll be back," Kat said quietly, so the other boys wouldn't overhear.

Timbre pretended not to hear her, though Kat thought he had nodded ever so slightly. Sond bobbed up in between them.

"C'mon, cheer up!" she said happily. "We have the whole rest of the summer to look forward to! Isn't that worth being happy about?"

"Yeah," Timbre agreed, staring back down the road where the small cart had long vanished. "I guess it is." He gave the merest hint of a smile as he turned and followed his friends back towards the gates of Clock Town, the rest of the summer still ahead of them.

THE END

**A/N: And that's it. Thank you for reading An Act to Follow HD! I'm hoping to post updates on some new stories soon. Feedback is of course gratefully appreciated, as are questions. Until next time!**


End file.
